


Crescent: The Treasure of the Seven Galaxies

by Neko_ryn



Series: Tales of The Crescent [2]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Aliens, Attempted Kidnapping, Attempted Murder, Blood, Blood and Injury, Explosions, Fights, Kidnapping, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Stabbing, Treasure Hunting, Wakes & Funerals, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 45,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28596858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neko_ryn/pseuds/Neko_ryn
Summary: After the death of his oldest brother, heir to the crown, prince Hongjoong embarks on a journey to find the mythical Treasure of the Seven Galaxies. Wanting the treasure to finance the war against the people who killed his brother, prince Hongjoong will travel across space with the help of old friends and new, facing enemies he never expected. Together Hongjoong and his new crew will have to decide what they are truly fighting for: what is your treasure?
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Everyone, Choi San/Everyone, Everyone/Everyone, Jeong Yunho/Everyone, Jung Wooyoung/Everyone, Kang Yeosang/Everyone, Kim Hongjoong/Everyone, Park Seonghwa/Everyone, Song Mingi/Everyone
Series: Tales of The Crescent [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2197131
Comments: 27
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It is January 6! As such, I finally bring you my new series as my birthday gift. This time I'm working on ATEEZ! The fic is like 70% finished, so I'll be updating every Wednesday from now on! Thank you for joining me in this adventure, I hope you have a nice ride!

Taejoong held the hilt tightly as he lifted his foot and kicked the soldier away, retrieving his sword. He had lost his helmet some time ago during the fight, and his face was covered in dirt, sweat and blood. The fight had been going for hours, but dusk would soon come and the enemies would fall back to cover themselves from the cold that enveloped the Sierra desert, the biggest in the Bazara exoplanet. 

The Elgen had done an excellent job at choosing the site of attack, and Taejoong had to congratulate them for their strategy. Their thick, scaly skin provided them protection against the harsh weather, they could easily withstand the sandstorms and fight throughout the day. Their only disadvantage was the cold of the night. However, without a satellite to provide natural light in the darkness and the time they needed for recovery, the humans had been unable to perform a surprise attack at night, when the Elgen were at their weakest point.

Bazara was considerably small for a planet, and mostly consisted of deserts, but under its surface it was bustling with coveted resources. The planet was under the rulership of the Kim Empire, the biggest human made empire in that galaxy and the neighboring ones, which certainly made it the target of other empires and species. This invasion had already been going on for two weeks, but it was not slowing down.

Another soldier lunged forward and Taejoong retreated, earning himself time to activate his shield. He deflected the opponent’s sword by pushing it away and brought his long sword forward, piercing the arm of the Elgen soldier. Taejoong pressed a button on the hilt and electrocuted the enemy, who fell to the ground unconscious. He kept up his guard as he approached the soldier and leaned down to check on his vital signs; he was unconscious but alive, which meant they could take him back to camp and try to obtain information from him.

Taejoong wasn’t fond of taking prisoners, but he was less fond of stabbing someone unconscious or leaving them there to die. As he took a look around, he noticed that the rest of Elgen had already retreated, and all that was left was to gather those who were still standing and take the wounded back to camp. His sword shrunk into a dagger and his shield became once again just a gauntlet. When he crouched to pick up the fallen Elgen, he noticed a familiar coat of arms and smiled.

“Right in time!” Taejoong exclaimed, sitting up the Elgen and passing their arm over his shoulders. “Tell the others to start gathering our injured and dead, we need to send them back to their home planets and reward them for their service. Night is falling soon so we need to be quick before the sandstorms start and make it impossible to see anything.”

With great effort, he stood up and brought the unconscious soldier with him. Taejoong continued voicing his orders as he turned around and started his way back to camp; maybe if they were fast enough they could change their location to cover the terrain they had just recovered from the Elgen. As he walked away, he felt pain through his back and chest, which spread quickly to the rest of his body. He fell to his knees, and when he looked down, he managed to catch the sword piercing his chest as it pulled back.

* * *

“We were too careless!” Yunho screamed as his sword locked with another and he pushed forward to deflect it, retreating once he had succeeded. 

“What are you talking about! Don’t you like surprises?” Hongjoong mocked, way too excited for his own good.

He stabbed an Elgen soldier clearly in the stomach before kicking them back. He pivoted on his right leg as his sword became a throwing dagger, attached to his arm firmly by a chain, and threw it towards an enemy that was running to them. The dagger sank onto the Elgen’s shoulder and Hongjoong pressed the button to electrocute them, quickly sending them to the ground. He felt Yunho’s back press against his and he smiled, of course he could count on his right hand to keep him safe.

“You’re so boring, dear Lieutenant general, relax a little.” Hongjoong smiled as he retrieved his dagger, turning it into a short-sword.

Yunho huffed. It was so easy for Hongjoong to say that because he wasn’t the one taking care of his own back. Yunho couldn’t complain though, Hongjoong was vicious in battle, second only to his older brother, almost invincible. And that little part of him that was vulnerable to defeat was what Yunho protected. He wouldn’t be able to let Hongjoong get out of his sight if he tried, anyway, so might as well protect him.

The Elgen were tall but thin, and because of their reforced skin the Empire had fortified their weapons in order to make them more effective. Soon enough, Hongjoong’s troop had finished off the battle, and won. They had been inspecting some caves for a new base when the Elgen attacked them. The attack had been unexpected, an ambush, but they had been able to defend themselves and emerge victorious.

“Round up and count the injured!” The lieutenant in charge of the troop ordered and he was answered by a chorus of ‘yes sir!’. “Sir,” Lieutenant Hwang saluted Hongjoong and then Yunho, who saluted back.

“Lieutenant,” Hongjoong acknowledged him with a nod. “Do you think there will be enough men to guard this spot so the Elgen can’t claim it again?”

“It is still difficult to say sir, I’ll inform you once the headcount is done.” The lieutenant explained. “The battle was quite brutal however, and we need to get the injured back to the main camp. We might need to call for reinforcements.” 

“Alright, keep me informed.” Hongjoong nodded, but before the man walked away, he stopped him. “Good job on leading your troop through the ambush Lieutenant Hwang, I expected no less.” 

The lieutenant saluted before going back to check on his soldiers, and Hongjoong allowed himself to relax for a second. Yunho chuckled next to him, wiping off sweat from his forehead. Hongjoong pushed him softly and shook his head; he looked around to make sure no one was close enough to them before he began talking. Yunho looked at him with a soft smile on his face and listened.

“I know you already know, because he’s your prince-”

“Not more than you are.” Yunho interrupted briefly, causing Hongjoong to blush profusely.

“Not the point!” The General said through gritted teeth. “My brother’s birthday is next week and I am so excited for it! I insisted aunt Mira until she taught me how to cook his favorite dishes.” Hongjoong explained, obviously too excited.

Everyone knew that Hongjoong looked up to his brother. Taejoong was his role model and Hongjoong’s favorite person besides Yunho; he had been planning his brother’s birthday celebration for almost a month, and he talked so much about it it was almost certain his brother knew already. It was difficult to dissuade him of talking about it, though, since it brightened his expression so much.

“You? Cooking? It should be considered treason, you’ll probably poison your brother.” Yunho chuckled, earning himself a punch and a death glare from Hongjoong. Yunho was not deterred by this though, as he grabbed Hongjoong’s arm and pulled him closer, pecking him slightly on the lips.

“Don’t do that! We’re in public.” Hongjoong almost yelled, pushing Yunho away. “And my cooking is  _ not _ that awful.” He crossed his arms. “Is it?”

“Of course not!” Yunho smiled, looking apologetic. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel insecure.” Hongjoong shook his head.

“Do you think he’ll like his gift?” Hongjoong bit his lip, eyes trained on the floor.

“I’m sure he’ll love it.”

* * *

Taejoong held his hands to his chest, pressuring the wound, dropping the Elgen soldier as he tried to keep the blood from pouring out, but it was impossible. He fell on his side, and looked up when a dirty boot pushed him so he was lying on his back. Pain flooded his body as he felt sand and dirt press into his back injury, and groaned and winced in pain.

His sight became blurry from the mix of tears and agony, and when he looked up, he couldn’t quite make the face of the person that stood before him. He knew just by the colors that it was one of his own though. The soldier stabbed the fallen Elgen multiple times before looking back at Taejoong, who had begun to shake uncontrollably.

“Who… are you?” He managed to sputter out, coughing blood. The man laughed but didn’t reply. “Who sent you… why?” 

How was no one seeing him bleed out? Surely, someone must have noticed when he had stopped given orders, when he had stopped guiding them. And yet he couldn’t hear anyone coming to help him. Taejoong was going to die by the hands of his own soldier, and he couldn’t find a reason why.

“Hongjoong…” He whispered, because even then he could only think of his youngest brother, fighting his own battles somewhere in that deserted planet. What if he was in danger too? “I’m s-sorry…” His breathing stopped.

“Help! General Kim has been attacked! Somebody help!” 

* * *

“I promise you he will like your gift!” Yunho insisted, trying to hide his smile. “You’re literally his favorite person in the Empire, no- in the universe.”

“I’d say Livia is pretty high up there too.” Hongjoong mumbled, making Yunho laugh.

“Princess Livia is Prince Taejoong’s wife though.” Yunho said with a smile. “It’ll be fine.”

As Hongjoong was about to retort, a slider parked outside of the cave they were in and a hurried soldier ran towards them. Her face was livid as she made her way up to Hongjoong, but there was no hesitation in her voice when she gave them the news.

“Sir,” she saluted. Her shoulders were strained with tension. “General Kim Taejoong has passed away in combat.”

Hongjoong’s face became pale, and a second later he was running towards the slider. Yunho followed him in a hurry and stopped him right before he mounted, holding him in place. Hongjoong battled in his arms and threw a punch at his face, which Yunho barely avoided. He held him down nonetheless and boarded the slider first.

“I’ll drive, before you kill yourself on the way.” Yunho explained.

Hongjoong boarded behind him and held tight. Sliders like this one were made for messengers, one person who needed to deliver a message quickly, and it really wasn’t supposed to hold both Yunho and Hongjoong on it. However, Hongjoong wasn’t about to be left behind, and Yunho wasn’t going to let him drive it, so he would hold on for dear life until they had made it with his brother.

Yunho started up the engine and they bolted out of there. Through their communication network, he asked for the coordinates and in just a few minutes they had already arrived. When Hongjoong let go of him, Yunho felt the sting of the cuts that his nails had left behind from holding so tightly. Hongjoong didn’t wait for him to turn off the engine and jumped off the slider, running towards the mass of people.

“Let me through!” He yelled, and the soldiers in front of him parted, letting him see.

The army nurses had already loaded the body on a stretcher and were taking it to the medical slider. No one saw it coming when Hongjoong threw himself at them, trying to stop them from taking his brother away. Yunho ran towards him and pulled him away, shielding him with his body, but it was too late, Hongjoong had already seen it all.

He became violent, hitting Yunho and demanding him to move. But Yunho didn’t budge. Instead, he took Hongjoong away from the masses so they wouldn’t see him in that state. When they were finally alone, away from the prying eyes, Hongjoong broke down in his arms. He cursed Yunho out, demanding to return his brother, to let him go see him. And through it all, Yunho just held him.

* * *

Hongjoong stood next to his middle brother Yijoong and his father, the Emperor, on the front row at the palace's ballroom. The space had been adapted to hold the funeral, and as far as Hongjoong remembered, this was the second time he got to see it like this. His memories of the first time weren't too clear. He had been too young when the Empress, his mother, had passed away as a victim of illness. And now he stood there, waiting for his older brother to be brought to the front.

His eyes were fixed on the thrones as the soldiers carried the coffin on their shoulders. Hongjoong couldn't really hear anything besides the noise in his head. He was vaguely conscious of a few people crying, but the royal family was somewhat small and most of their family friends were in the military. Everyone expected them to just remain serious and wait.

Yunho had embraced him all throughout the previous day while the preparations for the ceremony were carried, but it wasn't enough and Hongjoong wished he could be there by his side. As it was, though, Yunho was probably standing a few rows behind him. The only good thing was that, at least, he had cried enough in the previous 24 hours that he didn't have a tear left to cry in the ceremony. Yijoong and his father were stoic as well, and Hongjoong couldn't help but think they certainly made an exemplary family of soldiers.

The emperor was the first to give his farewell speech. Hongjoong couldn't help but look away when the words died in his father's throat, as he looked over at the coffin for a long minute, just contemplating it. His father had lost his wife and a son. Yijoong and him had lost their mother and now a brother, how could they not break apart even just a moment? And still, the speech ended with no tears.

As Yijoong went to the front to speak about their eldest brother, Hongjoong put his hand inside his coat and pulled out a compass. It was a round black box the size of his palm, engraved with his initials. Taejoong had given it to him as a birthday gift when he had completed his studies in navigation, as it was one of Hongjoong's passions. The outside was simple, but the inside was beautifully designed and the golden needle never failed to show him the way. He wished it would also show him the way to bring his brother back.

When Yijoong was done speaking, it was Hongjoong's turn to stand up and walk to the front. As he stood up behind the stand, he looked at Yunho, whose eyes were fixed on him with intensity, body tense. Hongjoong guessed that the younger wanted to run out of his place and hug him, to protect him from the pain of loss. Yunho was silly like that, ready to throw away everything for him. Hongjoong nodded, and after Yunho nodded back, he fixed his eyes on the coffin and began talking.

"Everyone knows this already, but my brother was the most amazing person in my eyes, in my life." Hongjoong's voice was firm as he spoke. "He encouraged me and guided me to become the person I am today, and I would never be here without him.

"He was loved by everyone who got to meet him personally, and admired by many more who never got a chance to speak to him." As he felt his voice falter, he stopped for a moment and breathed deeply. "He was the strongest swordsman and soldier in the Empire, yet he had the kindest heart and always strove for peace and negotiation, only raising his weapon when it was to defend his people, and still never aiming to kill.

"Everyone will remember him as an amazing leader and General, but that is not everything about him." Hongjoong smiled slightly. "My brother was the kindest person I have ever known, always discussing new ways of improving the empire. But he was also an amazing brother, taking care of me and Yijoong, looking for his family and friends.

"He made all of our lives better, and he would have been an amazing emperor." This time, Hongjoong looked at the front, looking for comfort in Yunho's expression. "He lived with kindness and died being kind, as the enemy whose life he had chosen to spare, as he often did, stabbed him in the back." Hongjoong sighed. "And still, I'm sure he wouldn't have hesitated to do it again even knowing the outcome.

"I'll miss him, but I hope that wherever he is, he'll continue to guide us through the legacy he left to us." Hongjoong spared one last glance at his brother before getting off of the stand and walking back to his family.

The rest of the ceremony went by but Hongjoong paid almost no attention to it. If his brother was anywhere, it was not in that expensive ceremony to honor him. So Hongjoong held the compass tight to his heart and mourned in silence, hoping that wherever he was, his brother was still looking at him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I volunteered myself for the mission, you'll come with me, right?" Hongjoong smiled proudly.
> 
> "Of course I will," Yunho nodded, grabbing Hongjoong's face. "I'll go wherever you go, but are you sure about this?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Wednesday so that means update! I hope you like this chapter <3 Remember to leave comments and kudos if you liked it!

The stars enveloped the ship as Taejoong carried Hongjoong on his shoulders. Hongjoong stretched his small hands and reached towards the vacuum full of stars, excited as it was his first time on a spaceship. The vessel was gorgeous, worthy of the Emperor of the biggest human empire in the neighboring galaxies, but even it paled in comparison to the beauty of the stars and planets splattered across the black emptiness.

Taejoong strolled around the deck as he answered Hongjoong's questions and nodded to all the crazy ideas of his little brother. Hongjoong had been demanding to go on a ship for so long that in the end, his father had had to concede. They had been worried that he would be scared of the embrace of space, but he was dealing really well with it.

"You're so brave for being so tiny, mini Hong." Taejoong commented after a while, still surprised that his brother wasn't scared.

"I'm not tiny!" Hongjoong complained, balling his fists and hitting his brother on the head. "And I’m not scared when you're with me." Hongjoong hunched over his brother's face and looked him in the eye. Taejoong looked back at him and smiled, nodding softly. 

"That's right, whatever happens to me, I'll protect you." Taejoong chuckled. "Even with your tiny size, there's nothing to fear!"

"Shut up!" Hongjoong bonked him on the head again before his brother pulled him down and started tickling him, sending him into a laughing frenzy before he managed to escape. They spent the rest of the trip just chasing and playing with each other.

* * *

Yunho pulled back the curtains on Hongjoong's biggest window and looked at the alarm clock with suspicion. It was way past his time to wake up but he was still in bed, and Yunho suspected he had turned off the alarm again like he had been doing all week. He couldn't judge him though, no one could. 

Gently, he pulled the bed sheets away to uncover Hongjoong's head. He was frowning, but other than that he seemed peaceful enough that Yunho didn't think it would be necessary to wake him up abruptly. Instead, he knelt next to the bed and softly carded his fingers through Hongjoong's blond locks. He wasn't naturally blond, and although at first he had been reprimanded a lot by his father, he only received a few disapproving looks every once in a while now.

Hongjoong's eyes fluttered open and he lifted his head, a little out of himself. Yunho hummed softly and continued petting his head until Hongjoong seemed to remember where he was and his head flopped back on the pillow, cheek squeezing softly against it. Yunho chuckled and stood up. He pulled the sheets further down and Hongjoong whined, burying his face in the pillows and trying to pull the covers back on.

"Come on, you have to get up now," Yunho insisted. His tone was serious but the smile on his face betrayed him. "You're already late as is."

Hongjoong shook his head, sending his hair flying everywhere. As soon as Yunho had let go of the covers, he pulled them back up until his chin and looked at his boyfriend with a half-hearted glare, daring him to try that again. Yunho shook his head and motioned to pull the covers again when Hongjoong grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer, almost causing Yunho to fall on top of him.

"Not yet." Hongjoong's voice was small, and Yunho understood he wasn't playing around. He just really wasn't ready to get up yet. "Lie down with me."

"Someone could come looking for you and see us." Yunho muttered. Their faces were so close that he felt compelled to talk quietly.

"Everyone knows we're dating, I don't think anyone will mind." Hongjoong rolled his eyes. "Please."

Yunho couldn't refuse him when he asked like that, so he took off his boots and lay down under the covers. Hongjoong immediately rested his head on Yunho's chest, listening to his heartbeat as Yunho wrapped an arm around his shoulders. It was intimate, and warm, and so they allowed themselves to relax.

"You know, just because everyone knows doesn't mean they don't mind." Yunho began. "If you were the successor, Emperor Kim would be marrying you to another empire's prince or princess."

"Well then, good thing I am not the successor." Hongjoong huffed, only mildly annoyed about the topic not being over. He knew Yunho was insecure about his status. "I have no interest in being emperor."

"I personally think you would make a better emperor that Prince Yijoong." Yunho said, almost as if it was nothing. Hongjoong immediately covered his mouth with a hand.

"Don't say that out loud!" He exclaimed. "It could be considered treason! And I don't want a dead boyfriend." Yunho grabbed his hand and kissed the palm softly.

"It's not treason," he smiled. "I'm just biased."

Hongjoong smiled but still hit Yunho softly on the chest before leaning on it again and sighing. It was a deep sigh, and Yunho knew he would just go back to being trapped in his thoughts. He really had to get up and go fulfill his prince duties, but a few minutes of daydreaming wouldn't hurt him. He played with Hongjoong's fingers for a little while before he decided to ask him about how he felt.

"How are you feeling today?" Yunho asked, pressing a kiss to Hongjoong's temple. Hongjoong shook his head. "Better than yesterday?"

"Only a little." He answered this time, and Yunho kissed his forehead.

"That's good enough, we'll just take little steps." Yunho hummed. "It never truly stops hurting, but it'll get better, I promise."

"I know." Hongjoong shifted, putting even more of his weight on Yunho so he could look directly at his face. "I actually dreamed of him."

"And what happened in the dream?" Yunho's arm wrapped around Hongjoong's frame, resting on the middle of his back.

"It was more like a memory, really." Hongjoong sighed. "Of when they first took me on a ship, it's one of my favorite childhood memories actually." Yunho nodded, everyone knew of prince Hongjoong's love for sailing and expeditions. "He promised me to always protect me no matter what happened to him."

"Do you think he's watching over you even now?" Yunho whispered, a bit afraid of offending Hongjoong with the question, but he paid it no mind.

"Yeah, he's never broken a promise."

* * *

Hongjoong walked towards the war room. A meeting had been scheduled early to discuss the progress of the Elgen invasion. Hongjoong and Yunho, along with other important members of the army had been allowed to return to the home planet to celebrate the burial, but they would probably be sent back soon.

He entered the war room as silently as it was possible for him, but everyone was so engrossed in a heated discussion to pay him any attention. Instead of claiming their attention, Hongjoong decided to stay at the corner and listen to their discussion. He would usually be more straightforward, but he didn't want to be there that day in the first place.

"We must take revenge over the death of Prince Taejoong!" Claimed one of the advisors. "One thing is invading a planet of the Empire, which could still be negotiated over, but another very different one is murdering the successor to the crown!"

"While I agree with that statement," interrupted another advisor, who focused on the economy," we've been using too many funds to fight this invasion. The people won't be happy about that."

“They should be more offended about the next-in-line passing in battle at the hands of our enemies!” The first advisor retorted, passionate about his house. A few other members of the meeting nodded in agreement.

“Then might as well provide us with a financial miracle if you want to continue this war,” the second advisor huffed. They were about to continue bantering when a tap on the table interrupted them.

"There might be such a miracle," Yijoong intervened, pulling out a small box. "We have the map of the Treasure of the Seven Galaxies."

"The biggest treasure in the entire universe?" The economy advisor scoffed. "With all due respect Prince Yijoong, that treasure is a simple fairy tale, it doesn't exist."

"Oh but it does." Yijoong smiled. "We have actually begun to decipher the map, and we're completely certain of its existence." He opened the box and it projected a gigantic map on the room, it was full of boxes blocking the actual map. They appeared to be locked with a password. "If the 'fairy tales', as you so call them, are correct, this would solve all of our problems."

Hongjoong's eyes widened as he looked around the room, taking in every detail he could of the map. He had grown hearing the stories of enormous treasures hidden at the end of the universe from his brother, and he had always wanted to leave on such an adventure. His father had disapproved, claiming that those were dreams of dishonest people like pirates, but here was his brother, proposing it as a solution.

“That simply can’t be true,” the advisor shook his head, although he seemed less confident than before.

“I’ve put the best historical researchers to work on this,” Yijoong smiled confidently. “The records don’t lie: the treasure is real.”

"Even then, who would take such a risky mission?" The advisor stuttered, taken aback by the certainty in the Prince’s voice.

"I'll do it." Hongjoong said before he could even think it through. Here it was, the opportunity he had wanted so much, right at his fingertips. 

"Prince Hongjoong? When did you come in?" One of the generals exclaimed, apparently most of the assistants to the meeting had not noticed his presence.

"Not long ago." He clarified. "My apologies for coming in so late." He moved towards his seat on the table, to the left of his father. "I want to go looking for the treasure. I have the abilities necessary to command a team and find it."

Everyone was looking at him, and they all seemed taken aback by his sudden boldness. All except his father, whose stoic eyes analyzed him intently, looking for a sign of weakness or uncertainty. Hongjoong held his gaze without problem. He wanted to do this, wanted to contribute to honoring his brother and wanted the opportunity to travel far away to places he didn't know of yet. Finally, his father seemed satisfied, and turned to look at Yijoong.

"How certain are you of the existence of this treasure?" He asked, and Yijoong grinned.

"One hundred percent certain, Your Highness." He closed the little box and passed it to Hongjoong, who held it like it was a treasure itself.

"Very well then, you'll be in charge of informing Prince Hongjoong everything you know about it, and Prince Hongjoong will put together a team to go look for the treasure." The Emperor instructed, to the surprise of everyone. "You have five days."

* * *

In a dimly lit room, a man sat down with a glass of fine wine, as he waited for the arrival of a delivery. Soon enough, two men entered the room. One of them was tall and sickly thin, almost looking like he hadn't eaten anything in decades. The other one, shorter yet with defined muscles and a healthy looking face, stared at him with empty eyes and chained hands, almost like a robot.

"Apologies for taking long, sir." The tall man apologized, quickly bowing before him, and pushing the shorter man to bow as well.

"It's quite alright." He laughed, taking a sip of his glass. "Is this who you promised?"

"It is, sir. San, code CS-710-28." The tall man proceeded to explain quickly. "He is one of our most experienced fighters and one of our best hitmen. He'll be able to carry out the task without problem."

"Right, my client needs only the best of the best." He nodded. "The target is a difficult one after all."

"We have received important targets like this before, sir." The tall man nodded. "But we never thought we would be asked to kill Prince Kim Hongjoong, it is certainly a unique mission."

He nodded and put his wine glass aside, standing up. He moved closer to San, who remained still with his eyes fixed on the front. He knew San was human, sort of, but he stood so still and collected that even his breathing was difficult to detect for one who didn't look too closely. San was, truly, a masterpiece.

"I expect great results from you, San." He said with a smile. "You were quite expensive to hire, don't let us down."

San was quick to bow to him, but still said nothing. He had heard that the products from planet Lyria 38 were not allowed to speak so long as a master was in their presence. They were not allowed to discuss their own jobs and simply received instructions. He found it truly fascinating that people with so little control over themselves existed; of course, others like San could barely be considered people, but it was interesting nonetheless.

"Do not worry sir, he'll take care of it." The tall man assured him, and he dismissed them, pleased with the results of their meeting.

* * *

Hongjoong went looking for Yunho as soon as the reunion was over. He needed to tell him about the trip. He wasn't too difficult to find, as when Yunho wasn't with Hongjoong, he could almost always be found training by himself. This time was no exception, and when Hongjoong walked into the Royal Garden, he could hear the clashing of swords and the heavy breathing. He slowed down and eventually made it to where Yunho was, training with another soldier.

His movements were precise and calculated, almost like he was dancing to a choreography only he had memorized. Hongjoong had always admired him for that. Not only was Yunho a good sword fighter, he was a beautiful one; and for all that people praised him as the prince, Hongjoong had always thought Yunho was way better than him, out of his league. It had probably been Yunho's survival tactic, though.

Yunho had been a nobody when he arrived at the palace, but Hongjoong had demanded him to stay at the palace with the fastidious insistence only a child could manage, so Yunho had had to justify his place next to him. And he had. There had been not a single day Yunho hadn't spent working towards becoming someone worthy of standing next to the prince. 

He had learned to read and write, mastered all of the difficult subjects they had tried him with, and conquered the art of sword fighting. Years later, Hongjoong had asked him about it, about why he had spent so much time working to satisfy the wishes of a naive child. Yunho had shrugged and, after some though, replied.

"It was the first time someone willingly chose me to be in their life and meant it." He answered with a smile.

That was before they began dating. Hongjoong had been so overcome with emotions that he had kissed him on the spot. Afterwards he spent a good hour apologizing before disappearing for a full week, because he had been too embarrassed about the whole ordeal. Eventually, Yunho coaxed him out of his shell and talked to him about it. And then, just like that, they started dating. Their relationship wasn't received without some disapproval, but they had made it work so far, and they intended to keep it that way.

The soldier Yunho had been practicing with yelped as his sword flew away with a snap of Yunho's wrist and Hongjoong’s attention returned to the fight. Yunho had his sword pointed to the throat of the soldier, and Hongjoong whistled, claiming their attention. He clapped slowly and Yunho put his sword down, taking off his helmet; the soldier next to him did the same.

"Oh, Hwanwoong?" Hongjoong asked, slightly surprised. "You're training with Yunho?"

"He asked me to." Hwanwoong shrugged. "Your boyfriend is too strong, I want one like him."

"Stay away from him, cousin of hell." Hongjoong stuck his tongue out, wrapping his arms around Yunho as soon as he was next to him.

"Look who's talking, Battleground's Devil, you're so bad you've made a name for yourself!" Hwanwoong also stuck his tongue out at him before he went to retrieve his sword.

"Shut up." Hongjoong huffed, making Yunho laugh. "Don't laugh at me." Hongjoong pouted, looking up at Yunho, who smiled and leaned down just enough to peck his pout.

"Ew! Don't do that in front of me!" Hwanwoong complained, shaking his head in fake disgust. Hongjoong grabbed Yunho's face and kissed him again. "Oh god I hate you so much." Hwanwoong gagged and ran away, yelling goodbye back at them once he was far away enough.

Hongjoong accompanied Yunho back to the palace so he could get rid of the heavier equipment, take a shower, and wear his normal uniform. As soon as they were in the privacy of Yunho's room, Hongjoong began pacing around, excited. Yunho looked at him with confusion, but waited for him to talk by himself. Finally, Hongjoong pulled out the little box Yijoong had given him and showed it to Yunho.

"What is that?" Yunho decided to ask, as he started preparing his shower.

"We're going on a treasure hunt." Hongjoong smiled, looking smug as he opened the box and the map enveloped everything in the room. Yunho gaped at it as his eyes frantically looked around.

"We... We are?" Yunho swallowed, baffled.

"Yes, we are going to look for the Treasure of the Seven Galaxies, and use it to fund the war and avenge my brother." Hongjoong closed the box, smiling proudly. "I volunteered myself for the mission, you'll come with me, right?"

"Of course I will," Yunho nodded, grabbing Hongjoong's face. "I'll go wherever you go, but are you sure about this?" 

Hongjoong frowned, displeased by the question. Yunho was rightfully worried about his desire for revenge, but Hongjoong couldn't see that, he just wanted to do something for his brother. Hongjoong removed Yunho's hands from his face and pocketed the map. Yunho grabbed his hand and softly kissed the back of it.

"Don't be upset, it just seems dangerous." Yunho smiled. "I am worried for you, but you already know I'll support you through any decisions you make."

"I know, I'm sorry." Hongjoong pressed his forehead to Yunho's chest. "Go take a shower, we have to start working on this."

* * *

The next two weeks were spent preparing for the trip. To cover his identity, it was announced that Prince Hongjoong had fallen ill after the passing of his brother and he wouldn't be returning to the battleground. The construction of their vessel began in the satellite Sonne U-28 from planet Namia, the biggest commercial satellite in the Empire. It was far away enough from the home planet that Hongjoong wouldn't be easily recognized by the general public.

This satellite was always full of residents from all over the Empire and even other empires. It would be a good way to find crew members to mix in with the soldiers they had already chosen. Through several meetings and discussions, they had opted for a smaller ship and crew, as it would draw less attention to them and make the trip faster. Of course, the map wasn't entirely deciphered yet, but hopefully it wouldn't take that long.

"An inn has been reserved for us to stay there while the ship is finished, which should happen in the next few days." Hwanwoong explained to Hongjoong.

Yunho and him, as well as eight other soldiers had been chosen by Hongjoong to help in the missions. They were all close friends to him and people he trusted with the task. They had already posted a job offer throughout Sonne U-28, and once they got there, they would check out the applications and take in then more people to make a total of 21 crew members. 

"Good, that'll give us time to check the applications and choose the rest of the crew members." Hongjoong nodded. "Any idea of when we'll get there?"

"A couple more hours at most, we're almost there." Hwanwoong smiled. 

"Good! I can't wait!" Hongjoong stretched his arms.

"We just barely left the home planet and you're already stopped acting like a prince." Hwanwoong chuckled. "Palace life never quite suited you."

"I was born a prince but you know the attention was always on my brothers, 'cause I'm... I was too far away from succession." Hongjoong hummed. "Plus, I grew up with you, it's impossible to be a normal prince after something like that!"

"Shut up, growing up with you wasn't great either." Hwanwoong muttered, making Hongjoong laugh.

"Prince Hongjoong, your brother is looking for you."

Hongjoong turned around and met Siyeon's eyes. She was one of the soldiers he had chosen to accompany him in the journey. She was a skilled fighter and an excellent strategist, plus, she just had a way with people. She was also their childhood friend.

"You don't have to be so formal, it doesn't suit you." Hwanwoong mocked, and Siyeon gave him a killer look. "Please spare my life, I'm too young to die yet." He put his hands together, rubbing them to beg for his life.

"You're so dramatic." She scoffed, finally smiling.

"Prince, huh?" Hongjoong smiled too. "You'll soon have to start calling me Captain instead."

"Aye, aye Captain!" Siyeon saluted him and Hwanwoong followed suit. The three of them broke into a laugh. "Come on, you brother is waiting."

"I'm coming." Hongjoong took one look at the vast darkness of the universe, littered here and there with tiny lights, and then he followed her


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wooyoung sat up immediately as he wiped at his eyes, trying to push down the tears and regain his breathing, but he had never felt anything like this before. The sun was barely rising yet but he couldn't focus on that. He felt happiness, pain, and unbearable yearning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bring you the next chapter of Versus~ We're introducing some new characters today c: Also! I forgot to mention that in my Tumblr you can find some exclusive content for the series that you can find right [here](https://not-majestic-bluenicorn.tumblr.com/post/638777426705580032/crescent-an-ateez-fanfic-au-treasure-hunters) and that will give you a bit more background on the characters~ Don't forget to leave comments and kudos!

At first, there was nothing but darkness, but he felt conscious, so he knew it was a dream. Then, the darkness was filled with countless celestial bodies around him, tiny and bright and very far away. Like that, Wooyoung was floating in the middle of space. It was beautiful, like nothing he had ever seen or imagined since he had never left his home planet, Oniris.

The Somnum almost never left Oniris. Their clairvoyance abilities made them highly sought after, which is why they didn't belong to any known empire and they didn't accept strangers on their planet. They didn't need to travel to know, however, since they could see and know everything through their dreams. Wooyoung knew, even without being a highly experienced Interpreter, that this was one of those dreams.

As he turned around, he spotted a beautiful vessel coming towards him. It was dark in color, but the white sails created a contrast that reminded Wooyoung of a moon reflecting the light of a star in the night. He floated towards it, looking around, and on its side he saw a blurred name and a detailed drawing of a crescent moon. He couldn't make out the name, so he guessed he wasn't supposed to know that just yet, but at least he had a clue.

When he landed on deck, a few voices caught his attention and he turned, looking for them. He found seven other men standing on deck, talking to each other. Wooyoung's heart started beating faster as he approached them, a sudden adrenaline filling his body. He stopped once he got close enough, eyes fixed on two of them. He had seen them before, in a previous dream, and knew their names: Hongjoong and Yunho.

In the previous dream, Hongjoong's brother had died and Yunho had had to stop him from attacking the people around them. It was bizarre to see him now so calm, smiling among these other men whom he knew nothing about. They all looked so happy, and without warning, Wooyoung's heart found itself yearning to be with them, to be part of that happiness.

The feeling left him breathless. He had had many dreams before, but nothing like this one, never a true vision. He realized that this was his awakening as a Somnum. His people believed in destiny, and at some point everyone got a prophetic dream that set them off into fulfilling it. Wooyoung knew this was his. His eyes filled up with tears as he struggled to regain the control over his emotions, but it was so overwhelming.

For a moment, he thought they were looking at him, but then it became too much and he woke up. Wooyoung sat up immediately as he wiped at his eyes, trying to push down the tears and regain his breathing, but he had never felt anything like this before. The sun was barely rising yet but he couldn't focus on that. He felt happiness, pain, and unbearable yearning. 

With difficulty, he managed to calm down little by little until his breathing had returned to normal. It was still too early to do anything, but he decided that as soon as his parents had woken up, he would ask them to take him to see the local Interpreter. Seeing Hongjoong and Yunho again in this dream, and what he had felt during it were no coincidence. It was time for him to start his own journey.

* * *

Hongjoong and Yunho were sitting at a table in the inn they were staying at. They were reviewing the job applications they had gotten from potential crew members, which were quite a few. So far, they had already decided on five of them, so they were missing five more. As they were reading the applications, one in particular stood out to Hongjoon and he put the rest of them down to read it. 

The lad's name was Lee San. He had been part of the expedition team on his home planet, however the government had dissolved it to fund other things and he had ended up unemployed. It said he had been part of an archaeological research institute, but he had quit because he wanted something that would allow him to travel around the universe instead. 

"I like this one," Hongjoong passed it to Yunho. "He could help us deciphering the map."

"And I like these two, give them a look." Yunho passed him two more applications and Hongjoong read them.

The first one was a man Yunho's age named Mingi. He came from the mining planet Merth X-24, and was an expert managing all sorts of chemicals and explosives, which could come useful when retrieving the treasure. The writing was neat and pretty, which somehow contrasted with the image of a miner, but it was nice. Merth X-24 was one of the planets in the Kim Empire, and while there was the risk of being recognized, Hongjoong thought it would be okay.

The second application was from a man named Jongho, a couple of years younger than him. He had worked in ship assembling and maintenance, which would make him a valuable crew member. Hongjoong didn't even need to read the rest of his application to consider him in. He put both applications on the accepted pile, and soon enough Yunho did the same with San's application.

They finished choosing the crew members within the following hour and asked Siyeon to message them their acceptance and cite them there next morning to begin their journey. After that, they went to the shipyard in charge of their ship, as they had received confirmation that it was ready. When they got there, Hongjoong's heart sped up in anticipation. This was going to be his very own ship, designed to his image and taste, built only for him.

Of course, he had a royal ship, but even that one didn't feel his. It was too flashy, too alien. This ship wouldn't wear the royal symbol nor would it be designed by others. Hongjoong had taken part of every step of the design process to make sure this ship would be only his, a safe space. He could bet that Taejoong was proud of him.

Yunho softly squeezed his hand to center him when he noticed Hongjoong was starting to get anxious. Hongjoong smiled at him, grateful, and soon the Master Shipwright guided them towards their ship. It was simply gorgeous. The wood was dark and smooth, the sails were white and almost looked like dragon wings when fully extended. 

They walked around it as the Master Shipwright explained the process they had followed and how they had incorporated all the details Hongjoong had asked for. And then they stopped next to where the name was painted on in beautiful silver letters. Crescent. That was what Hongjoong had chosen to name it. The C was a crescent moon painted with intricate designs in it. It was beautiful.

"Why Crescent?" Yunho asked him once the shipwright was gone.

"Because the waning crescent symbolizes growth and action, and the waxing crescent symbolizes achievement and completion." Hongjoong smiled, admiring the artwork. "I want this mission to be a success, to give us a new start." Yunho smiled and passed the left arm around Hongjoong's shoulders, pressing his lips softly to his temple.

"I like it," he affirmed. "I have no doubts we'll be able to succeed, wherever this mission takes us."

* * *

When morning came and Wooyoung woke his parents with the news, they hugged him tightly and congratulated him. They both cried, making Wooyoung break into tears again, but it felt comforting. His mother treated him to a plentiful breakfast and his other parent reserved a meeting with their local Interpreter for him. 

He told them about the dream as they ate breakfast, and it was obvious by his parents' faces that they had caught onto the fact that he would probably have to leave them. They were a bit sad, of course, but the excitement of their son finding his destiny overpowered it. Wooyoung knew the news would spread fast, and that following his visit to the Interpreter, there would probably be a lot of people waiting for him to tell them.

It made him feel a little nervous. Of course, he had gone along with his parents to visit other households and leave a little gift for the Somnum that would be leaving to fulfill their destiny. But it was an entirely different thing to be the object of that attention. The idea of people paying so much attention to him like that made him more nervous than leaving his parents. Still, he would be nothing but grateful as he sorted out the gifts on the few days he would probably get before leaving.

After breakfast, he helped his parent wash the dishes and then went to get changed, trying to dress himself with his best attire as his parents prepared the offering for the Interpreter. Wooyoung groaned as he put his shirt inside out on the first try and hurried to fix it. Soon enough, he was downstairs, tying his shoes and meeting with his parents outside of the house.

Rather than super populated cities, the Somnum lived in small yet technologically advanced villages that satisfied all of their needs. The planet wasn't particularly big, but the Somnum weren't quite fertile either, and thanks to their good government, they had an almost perfect resource distribution. Wooyoung had never lacked anything. 

Because of their nature, the government always made sure they had everything necessary to fulfill their destiny. Even the farms his parents owned, since it was part of their destiny, the government had provided. Now they were one of the biggest food providers in Oniris and also one of the main sources of food products for commercial trade. Wooyoung had always thought his destiny would be to inherit the farm, but here he was instead, dreaming of ships and voyages.

As they walked into the Interpreter’s house, they were received by an assistant who took their offer and shortly after guided Wooyoung into a different room. There was a low table and some cushions, with a teapot and a couple of cups. Every window in the room had been covered by thick velvety curtains, and the room was illuminated by a small chandelier that hung from the ceiling.

Not long after Wooyoung had sat down, the Interpreter came in. They were tall and thin, with skin frail from their age; however, their eyes were alive with wisdom and knowledge. Wooyoung wondered for a moment how many visions the Interpreter had had since they’d been able to remember. Visions could be very exhausting because of the emotional toll they took on the person, so learning to handle it was a major part in an Interpreter’s training. He couldn’t help but feel curious about what it was like to hold such an important role.

“Jung Wooyoung?” The Interpreter asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes, that would be me." Wooyoung nodded, rubbing his hands together trying to warm them up.

"Please sit down, don't be afraid." The Interpreter smiled at him and Wooyoung nodded, sitting opposite to them at the table.

Despite being on the floor, the cushion was so soft he didn't feel uncomfortable. From up close, he could easily smell the hot lavender tea in the teapot, and he felt himself inhaling deeper as it helped him calm down. The Interpreter poured him a cup before pouring one for themselves and pushing it towards Wooyoung. He took it, but didn't drink it immediately.

"This is a syndesia and lavender infusion," the Interpreter explained. "The syndesia plant will make it easier for me to access your mind and see the vision, that way I'll be able to give you more insight. You could think of it as establishing a temporary connection."

"Does it feel... weird?" Wooyoung asked, looking at the liquid with apprehension. The Interpreter chuckled.

"A little bit, but it's not painful, I promise." The Interpreter assured him. "Now, if you will, drink the tea and lie down, try to relax."

Wooyoung did as instructed and drank the tea in silence. The Interpreter also drank their cup in front of him, occasionally humming to themselves as they did. The more he drank, the more relaxed Wooyoung felt, until he found himself struggling to keep his eyes open. At that moment, the Interpreter helped him lie down with his head on the cushion, and before long, Wooyoung was in a deep trance.

It did feel really weird. At first, he started recalling his vision just like he had seen it the night before. But when he found the Interpreter inside and tried to follow them, his vision became just a muddy shade of black and he couldn't see anything anymore. It felt like he was still there, and he could certainly sense the presence of the Interpreter, but he couldn't see anything anymore.

After a few minutes that felt like hours, Wooyoung was able to wake up as the Interpreter helped him sit down and offered him a glass of water. Wooyoung felt disoriented and a bit confused. Nothing had changed so he couldn't have slept for more than a few minutes, but it felt like he had been gone for hours, lost in the nothingness.

"Drink the water, it will help you get rid of the effects of the syndesia." The Interpreter instructed as they themselves drank a cup of water.

"Did it go well?" Wooyoung asked after downing half of the glass. His throat felt parched and he really was starting to think he had been out for more than a few minutes.

"You have a great journey ahead of you," they smiled against the rim of the cup. "I'd say you have a lot to deal with, the seven handsome men you saw in your dream are destined to be your lovers." Wooyoung choked on his drink and he desperately coughed, trying to breathe normally. The Interpreter smiled.

"My apologies, but what do you mean?" Wooyoung stammered. His whole face was red and he could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

"They aren't all together yet, but they will be." They continued to explain. "They're on a mission to find the Treasure of the Seven Galaxies, but they will face many unexpected difficulties. As for you, well..." the Interpreter put down their cup. "You'll get there when they most need you. I suppose the relationship is a bonus."

"But how will I find them? I don't even know their names..." Wooyoung mumbled.

"Worry not, did you think I would send you away without any clues?" The Interpreter smiled as they stood up.

They left the room through a small door in the back wall that Wooyoung hadn't even noticed before, nervous as he had been, and returned shortly after. After they sat down again, they offered Wooyoung a necklace. It was a light purple stone circle wrapped by silver branches that hung from a silver chain.

"It's amethyst infused with syndesia," they explained. "Those studying to become Interpreters wear them when they are just starting, it will help you amplify the visions and obtain information from them."

"But... I am not an apprentice." Wooyoung looked at the necklace, hesitating.

"No, but your journey will take you far away and you won't be able to rely on us the Interpreters to help you," they smiled kindly. "Take it, maybe when you're done with your mission you could look into becoming an Interpreter, but for now, that necklace is yours."

"Thank you," Wooyoung nodded. He unclasped it and put it on, admiring the pendant as it rested on his chest.

"You should go now, your mission requires you to leave as soon as possible." The Interpreter stood up and urged Wooyoung to do so too. "Try going to Sonne U-28 first, you might find some clues."

"Wait, what?" Wooyoung turned to them in panic.

"If you don't leave now, you won't be in the right places at the right time, it's time you start your journey." The Interpreter smiled. "Don't be afraid Jung Wooyoung, all the answers are already within you, just trust yourself."

Wooyoung looked at their eyes, expecting to find mockery or deception, but of course there wasn't anything like that. So he took a deep breath and nodded. He thanked the Interpreter for their services and then left to find his parents, who were waiting for him outside. They wasted no time asking him what had happened and how the meeting had gone. He was in a hurry though, so he promised he would tell them on their way home.

And so he did. As they walked home, he explained to them what had happened and everything the Interpreter had told him. His mother stopped him to hug him tightly once Wooyoung revealed he had to leave as soon as possible. Like him, they had hoped they would at least get a few days to spend together before having to say their goodbyes, and it hurt that it would have to be so sudden.

When they got home, there were already families from the village waiting for them, carrying gifts to aid Wooyoung in his journey. His parents welcomed them all into the house and their neighbors asked what had happened during his meeting. Wooyoung's face was red with embarrassment and nervousness as he tried to explain it all to them again; the attention felt so uncomfortable and awkward.

Eventually, his parent intervened and told Wooyoung to go prepare for leaving. He didn't need to be asked twice as he hurried to his room and locked himself in, regaining his breath. He could still heat the rest of the village talking downstairs, but at least his room felt like a safe space... Except, the sole thought that he needed to leave already weighed him down. He had never expected he would have to leave his home so suddenly.

He was afraid. He could still remember as a child, the fear he had felt of never seeing his family again, of losing them forever. The Universe wasn’t usually a kind place to those of his kind, and he was afraid of what could happen to him without the protection of his people. Everyone knew about the stories of those who never came back. What if he didn’t get to come back either?

Wooyoung's heart grew heavy with each new thought as he picked a suitcase and began filling it with clothes and personal care items. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realize what he was packing until his mother knocked on his door and brought him out of his daze. She walked in and gently guided his hands away from the suitcase, arranging the items herself.

"You're going to be okay." She said after a little while, hands still busy fixing his suitcase.

“Mom,” Wooyoung looked up, eyes bright. “What do you mean?”

“I know you’re probably afraid,” she smiled, “but not all the people outside of Oniris are bad, you’re going to be okay.”

"I'm going to miss you, both of you." Wooyoung said as he teared up.

"And we're going to miss you too, but we'll be rooting for you." She smiled, putting the clothes aside and cupping Wooyoung's face. "Maybe when you're done with your mission you can come back and introduce use to your seven handsome boyfriends."

"Mom!" Wooyoung complained, face burning red. "Don't say that, it's so embarrassing." She chuckled.

"Honestly your parent was acting all jealous about it, so I'm sure spending some time away from you might help them come to terms with the fact." She smiled, complicit, before she went back to helping with his luggage.

"Are you going to be okay?" Wooyoung asked, pouting slightly as she handed her a few more items.

"Us? Baby you should be worrying about yourself!" She laughed. "We're just simple farmers, you're the one going on a mission to find some sort of mythical treasure! We're not at danger here."

"Still..." Wooyoung's pout grew as he hugged his mother's back. "At least pretend you're gonna struggle without me here!"

"We're going to live like newlyweds all over again." She teased him. "Maybe even go on a honeymoon again."

"I am so underappreciated in this household." Wooyoung huffed as he moved to help his mother close the suitcase. His heart felt lighter.

"I'm kidding, of course we'll struggle without you, but that doesn't matter." Once the suitcase was closed, she turned around to face him. "We love you so much, but it is time you focus on yourself, we will always wait for you." She opened her arms and Wooyoung hugged her, knowing he wouldn't be able to in a long time.

* * *

"Captain, all of the crew members have arrived." 

Hongjoong turned around to face Yunho as he finished buttoning his shirt. Both smiled at each other as Hongjoong followed his now First Mate to the deck, where every member of the crew was waiting for him. They had moved the ship to port the previous day after the last few details had been settled and they had loaded the supplies into the ship.

Of course, Hongjoong knew half of the crew members since they were all his soldiers, but he pretended to know them just as little as anyone else. If he wanted his identity to be kept secret, he would need to act his part. From now on, he was only Captain Yoo Hongjoong, treasure hunter. He was no longer the third prince of the Kim Empire, and he wouldn't be until he returned home with the treasure.

"Welcome, everyone!" He exclaimed, raising his arms. All at once, a surge of adrenaline filled him. This was his ship and the crew he had chosen, it was almost a dream come true. "From today onward, I am your Captain, Yoo Hongjoong. Under my command, we will achieve the impossible! The treasures and legends that no one has dared to follow or has managed to find will be all ours!" 

Everyone cheered, breaking into applause and cheers. Hongjoong smiled. He felt almost invincible, like nothing could stop him from fulfilling his mission and making the culprits pay for the death of his brother. He was doing the right thing, he could feel it inside him. Hongjoong looked at Yunho for a second and the taller man was smiling at him. Clearly, Hongjoong's excitement was contagious.

"We're leaving in under an hour, settle in and get ready to set sail!" Hongjoong ordered.

"Yes sir!" The crew replied in unison and began moving as Hongjoong turned around to leave.

One tall man stood in the middle of the deck with his small suitcase, clearly looking a little lost. Mingi had never been in a ship like this one, so he wasn't entirely sure where he was supposed to go to leave his stuff. He was also a bit too nervous and scared to ask. Their captain had looked so cool as he motivated them, and everyone had replied enthusiastically, so Mingi had allowed that energy to stick onto him. But now he didn't know what to do.

"First time on a ship?" A shorter man asked him, smiling at him genuinely.

"On one like this one, at least." Mingi nodded, ears tinted red. The man offered his hand and Mingi was quick to accept it.

"My name is Jongho, Choi Jongho." He introduced himself. Jongho seemed confident in what he was doing, and it calmed Mingi down slightly.

"Song Mingi."

"Come with me Mingi, I'll take you to the quarters." Jongho began walking and Mingi quickly followed him.

He was so earnest and hurried that he didn't even notice the crew member standing next to him, and when he moved to follow Jongho, Mingi ended up accidentally bumping into him. He turned around and quickly began apologizing, not even looking the man in the face. It truly didn't feel like it was his day at that moment, and he was getting increasingly nervous.

"It's okay." The man replied. His tone was so flat that Mingi thought he had made him angry.

"I'm really sorry." Mingi apologized again. Jongho patted his arm when he noticed how nervous Mingi was, and he looked back with a grateful smile.

"It's really okay, don't worry." The man repeated. His voice and eyes were so cold it was almost scary, and it left both Mingi and Jongho speechless. "I already heard you from before so there's no need to introduce yourselves; my name is Lee San, I hope we can work along well." San introduced himself before turning around and leaving.

"That's what you call a scary presence..." Jongho muttered. "Come on Mingi, let's go, we need to get working." 

Without thinking it twice, Jongho grabbed Mingi's wrist and pulled him along, since the taller still seemed frozen from the scary meeting with San. Mingi let Jongho guide him to the quarters in silence, just hoping he wouldn't get in more trouble that day.

* * *

The next morning, Wooyoung and his parents woke up very early to eat breakfast and send him off. His parents talked plenty during breakfast, like they would usually do, but Wooyoung remained silent and they didn't press him about it. It was obvious he was still nervous and hesitant, he needed some space. When they were done eating, Wooyoung washed the dishes while his parent helped bring all of his luggage down.

His mother had ended up helping him pack to maximize the usefulness of his suitcase. Plus he had packed an extra backpack with all the essentials he might need so that he wouldn't need to open the suitcase every single time. After the visitors had left, they had sat together to buy his ticket to Sonne U-28, making it official that he was leaving. Despite the fact that the Somnum almost never traveled outside of Oniris and that they didn't allow visitors except under specific conditions, it had been easy to get a ticket.

The trip would take a few days, but at least the Interpreter had given him a lead to begin with, since they weren't allowed to intervene with the destiny of other Somnum. Wooyoung had thought of using the necklace the previous night to obtain more information as well, but in the end he had been too nervous to do so. He would get to Sonne U-28 first and figure it out from there.

"Are you ready?" His mother asked once there was nothing left for him to do. Wooyoung nodded.

"As ready as I can be, which to be fair isn't much," he chuckled. "I'll be okay though."

"Of course you will, you're our son." His parent affirmed, patting his back. "Let's go."

They had already called a taxi, and with their help, Wooyoung loaded his suitcase on the trunk and they rode to the port. Almost every ship there was for commerce, and Wooyoung observed with curiosity as they loaded the shipments into the enormous vessels, preparing them for their long trips to other planets. His parents asked the taxi driver to wait as they helped Wooyoung unload his luggage and bid farewell.

"We're not forgetting anything right? We can hurry and go back to pick it up." His parent said, checking their watch.

"I don't think that would work out well honey." His mom chuckled, pushing his arm down. "Stop being so nervous, you're gonna make Woo nervous."

"Right, sorry." They smiled and pulled both Wooyoung and their wife into a tight hug. "I'm going to miss this, I'm going to miss you."

"I'll be back before you notice it." Wooyoung assured them.

"And with seven boyfriends no less!" His mother added. His parent's expression immediately darkened and they huffed.

"Don't even mention it, I cannot believe-!"

"Okay then, I'm gonna get going." Wooyoung squeezed his parents with his arms before disentangling himself and grabbing his luggage. "I love you!"

Wooyoung walked away after quickly pecking both their cheeks and repeating how much he loved both of them. He looked back a few times as he walked, each time spotting his parents standing outside the taxi and watching him leave. Tears welled up in his eyes for a moment but he pushed them back and moved forward.

The ship he was going to board was built like some sort of small cruise. It was an impeccable pearl white color and on the side the name was painted with black letters. It was named The Oneironaut, certainly a fitting name. After showing his pass, a crew member took his luggage and guided him to what was going to be his room for the next few days while they traveled to Sonne U-28.

He opted to settle in while the rest of the passengers finished boarding and the crew made the last checkups to the ship. Taking everything out of his suitcase would make it too complicated, so he opted to just leave it open in one corner of his room. He did take everything out of his other backpack though, since those were the things he would be using the most, and placed everything carefully in the bathroom and the drawer unit in front of his bed.

When the ship honked to signal their departure, Wooyoung hurried out of his room and to the main deck. He wanted to see how it looked to leave a planet and enter actual space. He looked around to see if his parents were still there, but he couldn't spot them among the ruckus at port, and that was when he realized he was truly going to do this by himself. At least until he could find the others. 

Finally, the ship sailed, and he watched little by little how the port, and then his village, became smaller under his earnest gaze. Faster than he would have expected, they had exited the atmosphere and now he was out in space, by himself, ignorant of where destiny was planning to take him.

* * *

Hongjoong's gaze was fixed on his compass but his mind was far away. He kept thinking back to the death of his brother but he couldn't actually remember it all that well. He remembered the messenger telling him about it, but after that it's all a blurry mess of incomplete memories. Through it all, however, the image of his brother, lifeless but still bleeding out, was etched perfectly in his memory.

A soft hand rested on his right cheek and he blinked twice, remembering where he was. He snapped the compass shut and looked up at Yunho, who was now cradling Hongjoong's face with both hands and looking at him with adoration. Hongjoong blushed at the intimacy of the look and Yunho chuckled, pecking him softly before letting him go.

"Don't go on a journey without us Captain." Yunho said, grabbing his hand. "It's time Hongjoong, we have to go."

Hongjoong nodded and followed Yunho to the door of his quarters. He paused for a brief moment just to squeeze Yunho's hand before letting go of it and going out. The crew paused what they were doing to look at him. The emotions were palpable: excitement and nervousness mingled to create a timed bomb just waiting to explode. He made his way to the quarterdeck and placed his hand on the wheel.

"Weigh anchor and raise sails! Our journey begins now!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dear patrons, our show is about to begin." A smooth, silky voice spoke from somewhere on the stage, gathering everyone's attention. "We invite you to direct your eyes to the stage and enjoy the performance. My name is Télos, your narrator, and I hope you'll be able to enjoy this evening with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I want to thank everyone who's been leaving comments, it really encourages me to continue working in this story and makes me really happy. Second, I want to present to you this gift I got from my friend Georgie, it is a [drawing of The Crescent](https://not-majestic-bluenicorn.tumblr.com/post/641028486520356864/a-space-pirate-ship-i-hope-i-did-hongjoongs) and it's beautiful! Remember to follow me on my social media for updates and content like that (especially Tumblr cause Twitter is hard), you can also message me if you wanna become friends! I hope you like today's chapter!

San quickly discovered, during the first few days in outer space, that it was more difficult than it had first seemed to find time alone. He needed to report back to his boss so he could report back to their client on his mission, but it was almost impossible to do so. Eventually, he concluded that the only way to do so was go to the restroom and hope no one else would be there so he could make his call.

A few days into the journey, he managed to find the restrooms empty and quiet, and quickly took out his communicator and initiated a call. A few seconds later, the small holograph of his boss projected and San presented himself.

"Soldier San, code CS-710-28, reporting." He saluted briefly before putting his hand down and waiting to be addressed.

"It took you a long while to report, code CS-710-28. You were supposed to inform me when the ship sailed." His boss shook his head in disapproval. "Explain why."

"Sir, yes sir." San cleared his throat. "I've been appointed as Space Artist and I've been helping the Captain, er- the target, to decipher the map. It is very difficult to find time alone, sir."

"Are you trying to give me excuses?" The man huffed.

"Sir, no sir, my apologies." San was quick to apologize, preferring not to upset his boss before he could even get a chance at completing the mission.

"Whatever," his boss shook his head. "I want a statement on the state of the target and of the voyage."

"Sir, yes sir." San gave a quick nod. "The mission is going as expected, they still haven't made much progress with the map. However, it is difficult to approach the target, as he is always in the company of First Mate Yunho, who seems more like a bodyguard than the second in charge."

"Ah yes, the lapdog." His boss laughed. "The client did warn me about him. He's basically dating the target, be careful. Report to me once you progress on the mission."

"Understood, sir." San saluted again and just as fast the call had ended and he was alone once again.

San sighed and put his communicator away. He carded his fingers through his hair and took deep breaths, willing himself to focus once again. He hated this mission. It was difficult as it was, but working by himself when the target was surrounded by some of his best soldiers was basically a suicidal mission.

He also hated the whole 'sir' thing, it made his blood boil whenever he had to refer like that to his boss, who was nothing more than an abusive asshole. Still, it was what life had tossed at him, and he had no choice but to obey, after all, he had chosen to live. He hadn't chosen this line of work but he could still make the best out of it, or so he hoped. In the meantime, he had to go back and pretend to decipher that map.

* * *

"This is definitely in a different code from the last one," San sighed, rubbing his temples. "It seems like the codes to reveal each part of the trajectory change each time, how did you even decipher up until here, Captain?" 

"I didn't, not all of it." Hongjoong sighed as well, leaning back. "It was given to me started, and I'm just trying to complete the work." 

"Ah..." San nodded.

"But thank you, you're doing a great job, let's continue working like this." Hongjoong smiled, patting San on the back. San tensed up and nodded, but Hongjoong didn’t seem to notice.

They spent a few hours working on the map, trying to decipher it. They had been doing this for days but their progress was slow and uneven, which didn’t help raise their spirits. Hongjoong was getting increasingly more frustrated. He knew there must be a key to how all the codes worked, but he couldn’t find it anywhere, and the more he tried, the more the map seemed to laugh on his face.

Yunho, Hwanwoong and Siyeon came often to check on him and brought him food. It was obvious he was overworking himself but none of them wanted to mention it. They knew how important it was for him to do this for his brother and the Empire, but they wished he would at least take a break to take care of himself. Eventually, they had to force it on him.

"That's it, I'll tell Yunho to come fetch you." Hwanwoong said one time he walked in and saw Hongjoong muttering curses at the poor map. San looked incredibly awkward standing next to him. "Look at our poor Space Artist, he looks so uncomfortable."

"Leave me alone, I need to work on the map." Hongjoong muttered, pushing his hair back. "I'm getting closer, I know it."

"Sorry to say it Captain, but you look pathetic and you're really not getting anywhere." Hwanwoong scoffed. He noticed how San tensed up at the insult and laughed. "Don't worry, Space Artist, we're good friends."

"I'm not pathetic." Hongjoong muttered, on the verge of pouting. The fact that San was there was the only thing keeping him from losing his dignity.

"Sure," Hwanwoong left right after.

Sure enough, Yunho came in after a few minutes and clicked his tongue in disapproval. He forced Hongjoong to stand up from where he was seated and pushed him towards the exit of his quarters. San stared at them in bewilderment. How could anyone treat their Captain like that? Especially the people who knew he was a prince. Was this all a joke on him?

"Sorry, you can take a break, he's probably kept you working almost as long as him, that isn't quite healthy." Yunho told him before he finished pushing Hongjoong out of the Captain's quarters.

"Stop pushing me," Hongjoong groaned. "I can walk for myself."

"Alright," Yunho smiled. "Come on, don't look so grumpy, the rest of the crew is looking."

Hongjoong looked around and certainly, the other crew members on the main deck were looking at him. He sighed and relaxed his expression. Maybe stepping away from the map wasn't such a bad idea, he needed a break to feel refreshed and go back to it with a new perspective. Just a little time off wouldn't hurt. And poor San needed rest too.

"Captain!" Hongjoong turned around as he was called and noticed two of the crew members Yunho had picked, Mingi and Jongho, approach him.

"Did something happen?" Hongjoong asked, already playing all the possible worst case scenarios in his mind.

"Nothing sir, we just noticed you've been working for a long time and wanted to bring you something." Jongho smiled, offering him an apple. Mingi offered him a bottle of fresh water as well.

"Don't be discouraged sir, you'll solve the map soon." Mingi added, smiling brightly at him.

"Thank you." Hongjoong smiled and accepted their little offerings, opening the water bottle and taking a long sip out of it. He hadn't drunk or eaten anything proper since he had basically locked himself and San inside his quarters to work on the map. "How's everything looking in the rest of the ship?"

"Everything is in order," Jongho explained. "I just finished doing a routine check on the artificial atmosphere and the fuel tank and they're working perfectly. Mingi helped me." Mingi nodded enthusiastically and Hongjoong chuckled.

"Heh, that's cute." He commented offhand, failing to notice the way Mingi blushed slightly. Yunho raised an eyebrow, an amused smile on his lips. "Is it your first time on board lad?"

"It is my first time working on one..." Mingi mumbled, his face growing redder. "Jongho has been helping me get used to it.”

"That's very nice of you, a crew needs to work together in order to make the most of it." Hongjoong nodded, satisfied.

These two seemed to be becoming friends just fine, and the rest of his soldiers were mingling well with the rest of the crew. It seemed like they would be able to pull the feat successfully if they didn't lose sight of their objective. Yunho tapped his shoulder and Hongjoong looked at him with a raised eyebrow. The First Mate smiled and gestured towards the Forecastle Deck, where Hwanwoong was making signs at him.

"I think they need us over there Captain." Yunho supplied. Hongjoong nodded and turned his attention back to Jongho and Mingi.

"I need to go, but do me a favor. San, our Space Artist and navigator, is inside my quarters possibly still trying to figure out the map." Hongjoong put a hand on Jongho's arm. He was taken aback by how firm it seemed, but his brief hesitation was only caught by Yunho. "Drag him out of there if necessary; if I'm going to be forced to rest, he should be too."

Jongho laughed and nodded, saluting his captain before pulling Mingi along with him. Hongjoong and Yunho made their way over to Hwanwoong, who kept exaggerating his gestures the longer they took to arrive. Hongjoong walked slower in turn, annoying his cousin.

"What was all that just now?" Yunho asked, a playful smile on his lips that widened when Hongjoong's step stuttered, as if he had been caught.

"What do you mean?" He mumbled, avoiding Yunho's gaze.

"I told you before I don't mind if you flirt with others Captain, but let's make it a little less obvious, shall we?" Yunho teased, shoulder's shaking slightly as he suppressed a chuckle.

"I was not flirting..." Hongjoong muttered. 

"If you say so." Yunho nodded. "In any case, let's see what it is that your cousin wants."

* * *

"Captain Hongjoong is not what I expected a Captain to be like." Mingi commented offhandedly as Jongho guided him to the quarters.

"What do you mean?" Jongho stopped to look at him.

"Well, I thought a Captain would be more strict? But he's very friendly." Mingi explained, shrugging softly, like he wasn't sure of what he was saying.

"I suppose so," Jongho hummed. "Maybe he's scary when he gets angry? Although, First Mate Yunho seems more strict than him." Jongho shrugged and proceeded to the door, opening it easily. "Whatever, let's get San."

Just like how the Captain had said, San was sitting at the table, focusing on the part of the map that reflected on it. Mingi stared at the room with his mouth agape, eyes moving frantically as if trying to devour everything on sight. Jongho looked at him and chuckled softly, confused as to why Mingi was so surprised.

"Close your mouth, had you never seen an holographic map?" Jongho asked, causing San to look up as well.

"Who are you?" San asked. His body tensed up at their appearance but he seemed to relax once he recognized them. "Ah, it's you two."

Mingi immediately closed his mouth and eyed San with distrust. He still remembered their first meeting and how cold and scary the other had seemed, plus they hadn't really interacted much the days following their departure, so Mingi didn't know how to move around him. Jongho seemed to quickly catch on on this fact and decided to do all the talking.

"Captain sent us to fetch you, he said you should take a break." Jongho explained. San looked at the map and nodded.

"I suppose I should." He closed the little box and Mingi gasped when the projection disappeared, earning himself the attention of the other two.

"Ah..." Mingi exclaimed, his voice reddening as he stammered to put out a coherent explanation. "It's not common... where I come from."

"You mean... projection maps?" San asked, showing him the box. Mingi nodded. "Would you like to look at it?" Mingi nodded again, more enthusiastic this time, but he soon stopped as he seemed to remember something.

"Ah, maybe later, you should take a break." Mingi insisted, looking at Jongho for support. Jongho was already looking intently at him, like he was trying to figure something out, but he still nodded in agreement.

"Alright?" San seemed dubious himself, but he put the box down on the table and nodded.

The silence was so uncomfortable and heavy and none of them knew how to break it, until Jongho finally suggested they went to look for something San could eat. The other two agreed and followed him silently. Mingi almost wanted to grab onto Jongho's arm, still a little bit scared of San, but managed to not embarrass himself even more as they went out to the main deck.

* * *

"We are getting nowhere with this!" Hongjoong exclaimed, raising his arms.

Yunho and San looked at him before looking at each other. It was obvious Hongjoong was getting fed up with the impossible to interpret map; they had already been sailing for a couple of weeks and were getting nowhere with their progress. Yunho sighed and stood up, signalling San to close the box, which he did.

"Okay, I have a suggestion." Yunho spoke, claiming the attention of the other two. "Let's anchor at the nearest planet to get more supplies. We can use the opportunity to get information about the treasure as well."

"How would that even work?" Hongjoong huffed, exasperated.

"Locals," San mentioned, quickly catching up to Yunho. "Who better to know about legends and traditions than locals, we might actually get some information." Yunho smiled, and Hongjoong's expression brightened as he understood.

"Exactly, it's good that we have someone as smart as you on board San." Yunho complimented him. San seemed a little taken aback and just nodded.

"You're right, that is an amazing idea, both of you." Hongjoong nodded. "What is the nearest planet?" He looked at San. San fumbled slightly with the map on the table, the one they used for actual navigation.

"That would be Zemia, Captain. It's part of the Kim Empire, a small planet focused on exporting entertainment." San said, showing him the map.

"That's where we're going now then, send the information to the map on the quarterdeck." He ordered San, who nodded. "Let's go." This time Hongjoong looked at Yunho, who nodded and followed him outside.

Hongjoong walked up to the quarterdeck and stood behind the wheel. He looked at the map that marked their new destination and smiled to himself. With a loud whistle, he claimed the attention of the rest of the crew present on the main deck, who looked back at him and awaited his orders.

"We're changing route to Zemia to restock the ship and look for information on the Treasure of the Seven Galaxies, prepare to anchor!" Hongjoon ordered.

"Yes sir!" Everyone replied in unison.

Hongjoong turned the wheel and the ship changed directions easily towards their new destination. The small planet was fairly close to them, so they would probably land on it within a couple of hours. They needed to establish contact first and make sure they had permission to anchor, Hongjoong didn't want problems with one of his own planets when he was trying to keep his identity hidden.

"Siyeon!" Hongjoong called, and the soldier immediately turned to him. "I have a favor to ask you." She quickly approached him.

"What is it, Captain?" Siyeon asked.

"I need you to establish contact with Zemia and make sure we're clear to anchor," he explained, pulling out a small passport from the inner pocket of his coat. "The permit we have guarantees we'll be received in any planet of the Kim Empire, but better safe than sorry." He gave it to her.

"Understood Captain, I'll take care of it." She smiled and set off to the Captain's quarters, where they had all of their communication equipment.

"Doesn't it worry you that you let people in and out of your quarters so easily?" Yunho asked him once Siyeon was gone.

"You mean our quarters." Hongjoong corrected him easily, as he looked over the ship from the quarterdeck.

"That is beyond the point." Yunho chuckled.

"I just don't have anything worth stealing other than the map, which is safely in San's hands right now, and my compass, which I always carry." Hongjoon smiled, patting his chest.

"What if someone steals me?" Yunho raised an eyebrow.

"You? They'd probably be dead before they managed anything." Hongjoong scoffed. Not for nothing had Yunho become sort of a personal guard of his when they were younger, before they began dating.

"Okay but what if someone steals my heart?" Yunho insisted. Hongjoong huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Then they better be okay with sharing with me, 'cause if not..." Hongjoong looked at Yunho. "Then they better pray we're anchored somewhere when I make them walk the plank." Yunho laughed at this.

"Are you a pirate or what?"

"Shut up, you would literally do the same..." Hongjoong smiled. "Or worse."

"You know me well." Yunho smiled.

"Of course I do," Hongjoong nodded. "I do love you, after all."

"I love you too."

* * *

Aside from Yunho, Hongjoong had brought San with him so he could take notes on the clues they found to deciphering the map. He also brought Hwanwoong and Siyeon, his most trustworthy crew members aside from Yunho, and Jongho and Mingi, whom he had started to like quite a lot and felt like keeping close. He had left Jaeyoung, another good soldier and friend of his, in charge of another small group that would look for the supplies. The rest of the crew had stayed aboard to guard the ship.

They didn't have an actual course of action, so at first they just wandered around the port city, trying to see if they could find anything useful. It was obvious though that just walking around hoping for something to happen wouldn't suffice. They needed to do something about it, the question was what.

"Why don't we go to a bar?" Mingi suggested after a while of walking around.

He blushed profusely once all eyes were placed on him. The suggestion had been genuine though, those were the places where the people at his hometown would gather to discuss the day's events. Whether it was another explosion at a mine or rumors on a new law that would be passed, the fastest way to obtain information was to go where the common people reunited.

"A bar?" Hongjoong asked, his interest had piqued.

"Y-Yeah, well..." Mingi's voice lowered, and he seemed hesitant to speak. San looked at him intently and nodded.

"I think it's a good idea, I'm not sure if this is the reason why he's making the suggestion, but places like that are goldmines of information." San explained. It was a risk to speak like that, but something in Mingi's fear of speaking out had prompted him to help. He should be figuring how to kill the prince instead. "The regulars and the staff will have picked up information from other patrons, it's a good place to start."

"That seems like a great idea!" Hwanwoong agreed.

"It does, thank you Mingi, that's brilliant." Hongjoong agreed, praising the other with a wide smile. Mingi just shook his head and murmured a quiet thank you. 

"I'm not sure it's a good idea." Yunho intervened, hesitant.

"Why not? I think it sounds exciting." Hongjoong insisted, already having made up his mind.

"How is going to a bar exciting, Captain?" Siyeon chuckled. The others also looked mildly entertained that their captain would find such a simple activity "exciting", it was kind of cute. They were smiling and Hongjoong couldn't help but blush.

"Do not misunderstand me!" He exclaimed. "Anything that could possibly guide us to the biggest treasure in the Universe is an exciting prospect." Hongjoong quickly excused himself.

"Fair enough, let's go then." Siyeon smiled.

Yunho still wasn't entirely convinced, but he followed them anyway. He was worried about it precisely because of Hongjoong, who didn't quite know how to act like a normal civilian. Hongjoong was certainly more down to earth than his brother Yijoong, but he was lacking in commoner experiences. Even when Yunho had grown up with him, he had still spent a lot of time with the rest of the castle's inhabitants instead of with the royalty, he knew how society worked.

After asking around for a bit, they were recommended to check the Seven Galaxies restaurant bar, which was the most popular stop in the city they had anchored at for their storytelling presentations. The sun was already setting in Zemia, which made it an ideal time to stop by and try to get some information. They walked in and grabbed a table, settling down with ease.

"The tab is on me, you can order whatever you like." Hongjoong said as a waiter offered them some menus. "I'll be right back."

Hongjoong stood up and walked towards the bar portion of the place. It was placed opposite to the scenario, where it seemed like the actors and actresses were getting ready to present that night's story. The place was only just starting to fill up, as it was still somewhat early, so they had probably arrived at a good time. 

"I'll go with him." Yunho quickly excused himself and followed Hongjoong. Hwanwoong and Siyeon both laughed.

"There he goes," Siyeon sighed. "Does he even have eyes for anyone else?"

"Are Captain Hongjoong and First Mate Yunho dating?" Mingi asked, out of pure curiosity.

"Well..." Hwanwoong gave Siyeon a knowing look and shrugged. "You should ask them about that if you're curious. One thing is for sure though," he continued as he opened the menu, "if they stay apart for more than a minute, one of them will suffer a horrible death." 

"What?!" Mingi yelled, scandalized. Jongho immediately covered his mouth and Hwanwoong broke into a laugh. Siyeon berated him and looked at Mingi apologetically.

"Don't listen to him, he's just teasing you." Siyeon pushed Hwanwoong's shoulder, who complained dramatically. "But I agree with him, if you want to know, just ask Hongjoong or Yunho."

"You refer to them by their first name only?" San wondered in a plain voice, it was the first time he had spoken since leaving the ship and everyone looked at him with a bit of surprise. "Ah, sorry, I don't mean to pry." He apologized quickly.

"No it's fine, and yes, we're close." Siyeon nodded. "The four of us are what you could call 'childhood' friends." She smiled. "Good to see our Space Artist is not mute, it would be difficult to relay information like that."

San blushed ever so slightly and pushed the menu towards Jongho and Mingi. The topic quickly morphed into a discussion of what it would be good to try at the bar and San was silently thankful for it. Jongho focused on choosing whatever sounded best before passing the menu to Mingi, who took it hesitantly.

Mingi stared at the menu for a few seconds, eyes quickly scanning the options on it before closing it and giving it to Hwanwoong. Jongho contemplated him with curiosity and wonder. How could someone so tall not be hungry after a whole day of going around the city. As he questioned this, Jongho moved his legs to re-accommodate on his spot and accidentally hit Mingi's left leg.

"Oh, sorry." Jongho apologized, briefly glancing under the table. Mingi did the same.

"It's alright." He smiled once he confirmed that the wooden pole he used as a prosthetic was alright.

Jongho had been wanting to ask him about it since day one, but he knew it wasn't appropriate to pry into other people's business. He also didn't know Mingi well enough to be wondering about his private life. He could, instead, ask him about something else though.

"Aren't you ordering anything?" Jongho asked, his head gesturing towards the menu Hwanwoong was holding as he spoke with Siyeon and San about the options.

"Ah, no," Mingi shook his head quickly. "I don't feel like eating right now." He explained vaguely, eyeing the menu once again.

"Not even a drink?" Jongho insisted.

"No, I'm fine, really." Mingi insisted back, looking clearly uncomfortable.

Jongho was quick to change the topic and ask him about something else. They talked while they waited for the food to be delivered. Still, Jongho couldn't help but wonder more and more about Mingi and his life previous to joining the Crescent. For such a sweet and helpful personality, Mingi was completely wrapped in mystery, and Jongho couldn't help but want to know.

* * *

Hongjoong sat at the bar and looked around with curiosity. The place was really clean and had good ambiance, which he hadn't expected. It was probably because it was also a restaurant, but he liked the place. He was only slightly surprised when Yunho sat next to him. It was almost funny how much time they were spending together now that they weren't busy fighting an invasion.

"The crew's gonna suspect we're dating and that you're only First Mate because of that." Hongjoong commented, smiling at Yunho.

"And is that a lie?" Yunho smiled back.

"Partially," Hongjoong nodded. "You're First Mate because you're the person I trust the most and also the best at everything you do, who better to be First Mate?"

"Thank you." Yunho ruffled his hair softly.

"What can I get you?" At that moment, the bartender, a beautiful dark skinned person, approached them to take their orders. Their skin glowed in a way it told Hongjoong they weren’t human, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what they were.

"We're not from here, so could you give us a couple of mugs of your best beer?" Yunho asked.

"Right away." The bar tender nodded and returned after a little while with two mugs full of foamy beer. 

Hongjoong took a large gulp and sighed in relief after swallowing, feeling refreshed and pleased from the bitter taste. Yunho drank more calmly next to him, enjoying the flavor. They drank in silence, observing the bartender with critical eyes until they were free again. Hongjoong used the opportunity to ask them and try to gain a little more information.

"Why Seven Galaxies?" He asked, mug already halfway empty. "Is it because of the Treasure?" The bartender smiled and nodded.

"It is, Zemia is the planet of entertainment, at least one place here should have the name of the greatest lost treasure known in the story of the Universe." Their eyes lighted up as they spoke, gesturing towards the bar.

"Do you know anything about it?" Yunho asked, and the worker's sight sharpened.

"If you mean its location, no I don't." The bartender shook their head. "It is said that there was once an indecipherable map that could guide you to it, but it's been lost for decades."

"Do you think the treasure is real?" Hongjoong continued.

"I don't know if the treasure is actually hidden somewhere, but every legend has a bit of truth in it." They smiled. "This was one of the planets that Thisa stole from, there is even a statue downtown, where the battle took place."

"It happened here?" Yunho asked, slightly surprised.

"Yes, and you're both lucky to come here today, the presentation will be about the legend of the Treasure of the Seven Galaxies, you should watch it." The bartender explained. "Maybe you'll learn a thing or two."

The bartender left and both of them returned to their table, cold beers in their hands. The others were being served their food. Siyeon immediately stopped the waiter and asked Hongjoong and Yunho if they wanted to order something, but they both declined. As the rest dug into their food, Hongjoong fixed his eyes on the stage and waited, his desperation growing stronger as they seemed to be nearing another dead end.

"Mingi, you didn't order anything?" Yunho asked next to him. He was leaning over the table towards Mingi, seeming a little worried as the gunner nodded, a little overwhelmed at the attention. Hongjoong looked at him as well and clicked his tongue. 

"Why didn't you order something?" Hongjoong asked, his attention leaving the stage for a moment.

"I'm not very hungry..." Mingi mumbled, overwhelmed by the attention now that everyone was looking at him because the Captain had asked.

"Don't worry Captain, I'll share with him if he gets hungry." Jongho intervened, noticing how uncomfortable Mingi was starting to feel.

Hongjoong nodded and smiled at both of them, reaching his hand to pat Mingi's hair softly before his attention returned to the stage. Yunho also nodded, satisfied enough with the answer as his attention also returned to the stage. As Hwanwoong and Siyeong went back to talking to each other, San cleared his throat softly and looked towards Mingi, who was sitting between the Captain and Jongho.

"Mingi, can we change places? I want to talk to the Captain without disturbing the talk too much." San requested with a quiet voice.

"Ah, sure." Mingi smiled and stood up, easily changing places with San.

"Thank you," San said once he was sitting in his new place. "You can also eat from my plate if you want, by the way. Don't be shy."

"Ah, okay." Mingi nodded, once again falling into an awkward silence.

San felt the heavy eyes of Yunho on him as he leaned towards Hongjoong and talked to him about the map. He tried to pay him no mind, but it was difficult. Truth was, San had evidently not fulfilled his mission yet, and the reports were getting more difficult as there was not much for him to report on, but it was just impossible to fulfill this mission. Even disregarding the fact that half the crew were Hongjoong's most trusted soldiers, Yunho was literally always by his side.

"Dear patrons, our show is about to begin." A smooth, silky voice spoke from somewhere on the stage, gathering everyone's attention. "We invite you to direct your eyes to the stage and enjoy the performance. My name is Télos, your narrator, and I hope you'll be able to enjoy this evening with me."

Hongjoong went silent as his eyes scanned the stage and San decided they could talk after the show. He silently reprimanded himself as he found out he was working too seriously on deciphering the map, he guessed it was because Hongjoong's enthusiasm was contagious. San sighed and his eyes stumbled upon Yunho, who was still looking at him intently. There was something so unfamiliar in Yunho's look that he was forced to look away, feeling too strange about it.

The lights dimmed and the velvet red curtains opened. A single light turned on the stage, revealing the face of the narrator, who was wearing a glistening dress that resembled the look of outer space. It was breathtaking, even when all of them had been to space already. The narrator paced around the stage as they began to talk. Their expressions were controlled and their voice flowed like a calm river, captivating them all.

"Decades ago, not long after humanity joined the spacial race and began competing against other species to make a name for themselves, the most daring pirate ever known in the history of the Universe stole their first treasure." Another light appeared on the right part of the stage, illuminating a young actor dressed as a pirate.

"Their name was Thisa." The narrator walked further away, making space on the stage. "As an adolescent, Thisa became known in their town for constantly defying the authorities and tricking the rich out of their money without ever being caught." A couple of actors dressed as officers came on scene and played out a fight with Thisa, but they evaded them easily and made a fool of them, making the patrons laugh.

"Thisa was not alone. Their brave actions soon gained them a following, which rebelled against the government and started a revolution that spread through his whole country and then his planet." Around the narrator, the actors and actresses fought each other with fake weapons that glistened under the lights.

"When they won the revolution, Thisa and their crew built the legendary Týkhé, the bringer of fortune, and set sail into space." The actors disappeared and instead a replica of the Týkhé was projected into the stage, sailing across space. "The Týkhé visited countless planets, where the crew led revolutions and stole innumerable treasures all across seven different galaxies." Flashes of different planets passed by in quick succession, with images of the wars waged in them.

"Many think that the only reason Thisa and their crew didn't make it to many more galaxies was due to their mortality, because they were unstoppable." The images stopped, and once again, there was only the narrator on scene. "According to the many diaries left behind by Thisa and their crew, the treasure is hidden in Télos, 'The End', but no one knows where that is or what it even refers to.

"However, before their passing, Thisa left a map and a poem that contain the clues necessary to find the Treasure of the Seven Galaxies." Numerous images of the diaries were projected on the back of the stage, and finally, the map in Hongjoong's possession. "The map has been lost for a very long time, but the poem goes as follows..."

_ I left my mark everywhere, _

_ grotesque monsters of jagged teeth. _

_ Under their watchful gaze _

_ the stone-made guardians _

_ protect the steps _

_ that lead the way to the end. _

Not long after the presentation ended, everyone finished eating and Hongjoong paid for their meal. He had become eerily silent after the presentation, and everyone was worried that he was angry for not obtaining much from their visit to Zemia. Yunho knew better though, and was quick to reassure them that things were fine once they got to the ship and everyone retired to their quarters.

"Are you okay?" He asked once they were in the privacy of his and Hongjoong's quarters, away from everyone else.

"I'm just thinking, don't worry." Hongjoong replied as he changed clothes.

"Thinking about what? The others are worried that you're angry." Yunho smiled, also changing into more comfortable clothes.

"Angry? No, not at all." Hongjoong chuckled. "I fully believe that Thisa made it so their treasure could be found, but if it has to be someone worthy, then it must be someone as clever as them to interpret the poem." Hongjoong explained. "I'm just trying to decipher it."

"Of course you are, anyone who thinks Kim Hongjoong would easily give something up is a fool." Yunho muttered. He laid down and patted the space next to him, prompting Hongjoong to join him. "Now stop thinking for a moment and go to sleep, I can hear your thoughts over here."

* * *

"Still no progress, code CS-710-28? You do realize this is an urgent mission, don't you?" San's boss scoffed.

San stood in the restrooms again, in complete silence, as the projection of his boss reprimanded him once again. He just had had no luck in killing Hongjoong like he had been tasked to do, and to be honest, he was starting to become fed up with the whole mission. Who had even requested such a task?

"My apologies, sir." He apologized, but didn't even attempt to excuse himself. There was no point in doing so anyway.

"I do not care for your apologies. The p-... The client is very impatient and wants you to be done with your mission as soon as possible." His boss urged him. "If you disgrace the name of our planet, code CS-710-28, I'll make sure to give them your head in return, understood?"

"Yes, sir." 

The call ended and San let out a long, deep sigh. He cursed under his breath and punched the wall, feeling nothing from it. Taking into account the situation he was in, he knew it would be impossible to kill Hongjoong without the others realizing who was the culprit and taking their revenge. Did it even make a difference? If he killed his target, the others would take revenge, if he didn't, his boss would murder him instead. How had he even gotten in this situation?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My name is Jung Wooyoung..." He looked at the sword and then back up, locking eyes with the man. It was overwhelming to know this was one of the people he was destined to be with, now pointing a sword at him. "What is your name?"
> 
> "Kang Yeosang."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really sorry about how long this chapter is wheeze. I hope you enjoy it!

Wooyoung had arrived at Sonne U-28 about a week ago. He had managed to locate the port Captain Hongjoong's ship had sailed from, but nothing more. No one knew where it was headed, and he hadn't had any more prophetic dreams since then; he had also been too afraid to use the necklace the Interpreter had given him. Since he didn't know where to leave, he spent the week trying to figure out more about Hongjoong and his crew from the people that had built the boat.

He didn't get much out of them though, both because of confidentiality and because they didn't truly know who Hongjoong was, just that he was well off. Wooyoung already knew Hongjoong was wealthy from what he had gathered in his dreams, after all, Hongjoong was a prince. But he needed to know where they were headed to.

The options had long run out and he was left with only one choice, to try using the necklace or to give up on his mission, and that wasn't an option to him. Wooyoung spent the whole day preparing himself mentally to use the necklace. It was fairly simple, he just had to sleep with it on. His body would be able to draw on the power of the necklace by itself and his soul would take him where he needed to go in order to progress.

When the night came, Wooyoung sat down on his bed with the collar in his hands and observed it, making one last attempt at calming himself down before attempting to use the necklace for the first time. It was nerve wracking. Still, he knew he didn't have much of an option, so he put it on and laid down. It took him longer than usual to fall asleep, even with the smell of syndesia working to calm him down.

As soon as he entered the dream world, however, he could tell he was no longer in his own mind. The place felt foreigner to him. It was wild and full of raw, uncontrolled energy, and Wooyoung had no idea who it could belong to. He only figured it out once he stumbled upon another man, roughly his same height, but lean and with a certain roughness around the edges.

There was no doubt in Wooyoung's mind that this man was the owner of the dream. Even though he looked calm and composed, there was a certain fierceness in his eyes that left him no doubt about it. As Wooyoung approached him, the space transformed around him into an enormous ship, and once Wooyoung was standing close enough, he noticed this was one of the men that had appeared in his vision next to Captain Hongjoong and Yunho.

"Who are you?" The man asked once he noticed Wooyoung, immediately pointing at him with a sword. Wooyoung knew it couldn't hurt him, but he still put his hands up.

"My name is Jung Wooyoung..." He looked at the sword and then back up, locking eyes with the man. It was overwhelming to know this was one of the people he was destined to be with, now pointing a sword at him. "What is your name?"

"Kang Yeosang," The man replied as he put the sword down, looking at Wooyoung with a certain confusion. "Is this a dream?" He asked, and Wooyoung nodded, a little bit too enthusiastically. "Are you part of my dream?" Now this question was a little bit more complicated.

"You could say so,yes." Wooyoung nodded, apologetically. Yeosang didn't seem to know what he was, and it felt like telling him would only make things more complicated. "Consider me an omen."

Yeosang smiled, chuckling softly. He had a pretty smile, Wooyoung noticed, immediately slapping himself mentally for it. Sure, he was supposed to eventually end up together with him, but this still felt a little too early. Yeosang didn't even know yet he was a real person! Still, his smile was pretty.

"Sure, if you say so." Yeosang put the sword away. "Why would an omen appear in my dreams?

"Well, naturally, because there is something you should look forward to in your future, don't you think?" Wooyoung tilted his head. He liked that Yeosang was playing along with him, because truth be told, he had no idea about what he could or couldn't do while in someone else's dream.

"Then you're not an omen." Yeosang smiled suddenly, approaching him. "Omen sounds creepy and scary, you're more like a..." Yeosang's hand reached forward to touch Wooyoung's hair. His eyes were so focused, wondering how any of this could be real. "Like a very cute sign or prediction." He finished, looking Wooyoung in the eye.

Wooyoung coughed softly and pushed Yeosang's hand away, embarrassed. It was ridiculous how much his face could blush even in a dream. The fact that Yeosang was laughing again didn't help much either, but made him feel even worse. Was this how it was supposed to go? Was he supposed to be flirting with Yeosang like this? He had no idea.

"Omens can be good too!" He retaliated, for a lack of a better comeback.

"Okay, okay, you're an omen." Yeosang raised his hands in defeat, placating him. "Now, why is Mr. Omen visiting my dream? What are you here to warn me about?"

"There's a ship and some people you should find." Wooyoung explained. "The ship is not very big, made of very dark wood and white sails, it has a crescent moon on its sides, it's called Crescent." As Wooyoung described it, the image of the ship he had seen in his own vision and in the pictures he had been able to get in Sonne U-28 materialized in front of them. Yeosang gasped.

"How are you controlling my dream?" He asked, eyes wide open as he admired the beautiful vessel.

"Omen things." Said Wooyoung, which was code for 'I have no idea either'.

"And why do I have to find them?" Yeosang asked, still not entirely convinced.

"That... I cannot tell you." Wooyoung shook his head. "I have to go now though."

It was clear that Yeosang didn't know what he was yet, and Wooyoung didn't want to scare him away by telling him he was destined to meet seven men and recover a legendary treasure most people didn't even believe to be real. Honestly, Wooyoung was only doing this because he fully believed in the mission and abilities of his people. If he were in Yeosang's position he would have probably refused outright and called the Interpreter crazy.

"Alright, I guess that's part of your 'omen things'." Yeosang chuckled. "Will you come again if I need more guidance?"

"Probably." Wooyoung nodded. At least he hoped so, since he still had no idea of how to fully control his abilities and the necklace. "Sweet dreams Yeosang." He smiled at Yeosang, and when he opened his eyes again, he was awake.

* * *

Yeosang regretted it immediately when his eyes fluttered open, as the dream he had just had was reduced to only a few figments. Two things remained in his mind though, Jung Wooyoung and The Crescent. He had never before had such a vivid dream in his life, and he regretted not being able to remember it more clearly, especially because Wooyoung had felt so real he wanted to believe it hadn't been entirely a dream.

He let out a deep sigh and looked around. The bridge he had been living under ever since running away from his house was usually void of other 'residents'. It was easier if you didn't have to fight for space with other homeless people, but when there wasn't a community with a sense of loyalty to watch out for your back, it put you in pretty dangerous situations. 

The good thing was that Yeosang wasn't stupid. He lived day by day, watchful eyes paying attention to the movements in the street so he could choose a new target to steal from that day. He was good at this, and the fact that soldiers assigned to his planet barely cared about it was a huge benefit. He spent part of his fortune on food and water for the day and hid the rest to save until he was able to buy himself a passage off that damned planet and go find his father.

He remembered the last fight with his mother clear as day. She had never been quite the same after discovering his father was an asshole cheater and had turned to vices to try and heal her broken heart. Yeosang loved her dearly, and had tried his best to remain by her side and help her get through it, but she was so angry at him everyday. The abuse had become too much and when she yelled at Yeosang to disappear, he left.

There was nothing in his possession worth taking with him, so he pushed a couple of clothes into his backpack and left after a particularly nasty fight that had ended with a cut on his cheek. Yeosang did regret leaving her a little, so he passed by his own house everyday, trying to see how she was doing. Her anger had seemed to dissipate now that there was no one to be angry at, but she cried almost every day and it shattered his heart to pieces.

Yeosang wanted to find his father and bring him back so maybe his mother could get some sort of closure and go on with her life. The planet they lived in, Tebos, didn't help much either. The resources in Tebos were scarce, and since it wasn't a main producer of the Kim Empire, it had been left almost forgotten. Yeosang had wanted to get out of there for the longest time, but now he wanted to even more.

Thanks to the poor support of the empire, the guards were underpaid and it was easier for him to steal his way out of the city. Of course, even though he was good at it, he wasn't the best. Some people in his town already had his eyes set on him, but Yeosang slipped out of their grasp every time. He just needed to hold on as long as he could until he was able to leave that place.

* * *

San looked at Hongjoong as he mumbled Thisa's poem to himself for the nth time. The two of them were alone in Hongjoong's quarters while Yunho took care of things outside, every once in a while someone would come in to check if they needed anything but would leave after only a couple of minutes after noticing Hongjoong hadn't even touched his food. San wondered if he should kill him now.

It would be so simple. Hongjoong wasn't paying attention to him and he knew no one would come check on them in a while. The question was, was it worth it? San wasn't particularly appreciative of his life, but he also didn't want to die for a cause he didn't believe in or care for. Still, if he didn't kill Hongjoong, he'd be killed by his own boss. This was a loss-loss situation. 

Just as he was trying to make up his mind, the door opened with a quick motion and Jongho stepped inside, slightly panicked. Hongjoong raised his head, and as soon as he took in the other's expression, he stood up and left everything he was doing behind. San followed behind them, a little confused.

"What happened?" Hongjoong was quick to ask.

"The fuel tank is damaged and we're losing fuel very quickly." Jongho explained.

"San, check the coordinates to the nearest planet and send them to quarterdeck." Hongjoong was quick to order, his thoughts racing.

"Yes, sir." San went back to the table and got to work.

"Jongho, go back to the fuel tank and figure out if there's a way you can patch it up temporarily, you can take someone with you if you need assistance." Hongjoong instructed.

"Yessir!" Jongho exclaimed and left quickly, taking a couple other crew members he found on his way to the maintenance room.

Hongjoong rushed out of his quarters and to the deck, where Yunho was directing some other crew members on what to do. He didn't even stop to ask him about it and just made his way to the wheel, the coordinates for a planet named Tebos were already there, waiting for him. With quick precision, Hongjoong stirred the wheel and changed the direction of the ship. Tebos was almost in the complete opposite direction they were going in originally, but it was the closest planet to where they were, so a little sacrifice would have to be made. 

"Someone contact Tebos and inform them we will be doing an emergency landing!" He yelled. 

The crew mobilized immediately and Hongjoong centered himself on directing the ship. He needed to make sure that they made it to Tebos so they could get more fuel and continue with their journey. If they ran through the fuel, they could be rescued, but the ship would need to be towed and they would just lose too much time.

"Captain! We're approaching Tebos!" Siyeon informed him.

With the velocity they were going at, it wasn't long before they were right outside Tebos' atmosphere. The fuel levels were dangerously low, but Hongjoong didn't have much of an option as he had to slow down before they came in. He pressed a couple of buttons and activated the protection field which would keep the ship safe from the effects of breaking through the ozone layer of a planet. 

A patrol ship that had received their emergency call was already waiting for them, and helped guide them to the nearest port. As soon as they had landed, Hongjoong told Yunho to check with the patrol guards and he ran to the maintenance room to look for Jongho and the crew members that had helped him deal with the leak temporarily. He found them easily, all of them sitting on the floor covered in oil and whatnot and looking completely defeated. 

"Are you alright?" Hongjoong asked, paying no mind to the mess as he approached to check on them.

"Don't come close Captain, you'll get dirty." Jongho warned him, holding his hands up in an attempt to stop him.

"As if that matters," Hongjoong scoffed, taking Jongho's hand instead and helping him stand. "You all did an amazing job here, go get clean and changed, we're having a meeting on the main deck shortly." He ordered, yet his voice was gentle.

The crew members obeyed without making any comments and Hongjoong stayed back to inspect the mess for a moment. He wasn't an expert in ship mechanisms, but even he could tell it looked bad. As he walked back to the deck, he thought that maybe he should ask Jongho to teach him a little bit about it. He should, at the very least, know how to take care of his ship properly.

"What did the officers say?" Hongjoong asked Yunho once he was outside, standing next to him.

"Well, we explained the situation to them, and since our documentation is in order, they said it was fine." Yunho explained, pointing towards the patrol ship that was just leaving.

"That's good," Hongjoong nodded. "Do me a favor and get everyone here, I'll go change my clothes." 

Yunho agreed and Hongjoong went back to his quarters. San was still there, looking at the poem that Hongjoong had left behind to deal with the emergency. He only looked up when Hongjoong cleared his throat.

"Oh, is everything alright Captain?" San asked, a little bit startled.

"You know, it's fine if you call me Hongjoong when there's no one else around, I feel like through all this map deciphering we've gotten close enough." Hongjoong shrugged. 

"Ah..." San stared at him wide-eyed, at a loss of words. Great, this was exactly what he needed: to get all friendly with his target. "Okay..." Hongjoong looked at him expectantly and San cursed himself inside. "Hongjoong."

Hongjoong hummed happily and proceeded to walk towards the part of the quarters that was his room. It was separated by the rest by a wall, giving him some sense of privacy. Yunho and him slept together there, even though theoretically Yunho wasn't supposed to be there, but that was no one's business.

"I'm gonna get changed, you should go meet the others at the deck." Hongjoong hair popped out from behind the wall. "Unless you want to wait for me?" Hongjoong asked playfully, his hands already unbuttoning his shirt.

"I'm going!" San turned around without wasting a second and left the quarters.

San left the room and joined the others on deck. He threw his 'cool' image outside the window and messed up his hair until it was standing in all sorts of directions, muttering to himself at the same time. The other crew members who were already on deck looked at him strangely, but didn't ask. Everyone found San slightly intimidating, and while they didn't see him much because he was always helping the captain, the fact that they didn't know him did the opposite of helping.

"Is everything alright?" Yunho asked him, eyebrows raised as he observed San try to fix his hair again.

"Yes, everything is fine." San regretted only slightly the way his voice sounded a little too sharp.

"Did something happen with Hongjoong?" Yunho insisted, and he knew he was right when San's voice rose one octave and he tried to deny everything.

"No!" San almost yelled, but he quickly composed himself and cleared his throat. "No, nothing happened with Captain Hongjoong." Unconsciously, he accentuated the word captain, feeling better after putting some imaginary distance between him and Hongjoong. "He'll be here shortly."

Said and done, Hongjoong joined them after a couple of minutes, changed into a clean set of clothes. He greeted everyone with a smile and began explaining the situation to those who hadn't heard during the ruckus and had simply followed orders. He then let Jongho detail the status of the ship.

"It's not too bad that I can't fix it, we won't need to buy a new fuel tank." Jongho concluded.

"That does take some weight off of out shoulders." Hongjoong smiled. "The next pressing issue is that we need to get more fuel..."

"That might be a problem." Siyeon spoke, gathering everyone's attention. "Tebos is a very poor planet, it might be expensive to find fuel. We could potentially refill the tank enough to get us to another planet and buy from there." She suggested. Hongjoong hummed and considered it for a few seconds.

"This sure looks like home, then." San muttered to himself, but Hongjoong heard him and looked at him for a moment before continuing with the discussion.

"Let's try to find us a good deal in fuel, if we can't do that then I'll ask San to find us the closest planet so we can calculate how much fuel we need to get there." Hongjoong concluded, and everyone else nodded. "I'll take Yunho and Siyeon with me to barter for the price, Second Mate?" 

"Yes sir?" Hwanwoong asked, although it was more of a formal exchange, since he already knew what Hongjoong was going to say.

"You're in charge for the time being, make sure Jongho has everything he needs to fix the ship." Hongjoong ordered, briefly smiling at Jongho. "If something is missing, let us know and we'll buy it."

"Alright, sir." Hwanwoong nodded.

"Let's get to work then!" Hongjoong clapped his hands twice and the ship went back to life as everyone mobilized.

Yunho and Siyeon followed him off the ship and into the port, where they would try gathering information on where to get fuel first. Yunho immediately approached Hongjoong as they descended, grabbing his arm to pull him close and whisper to him. Siyeon, way too used to these displays of affection, just ignored them and walked a little bit ahead of them.

"What did you do to San?" Yunho asked. His face looked serious but his voice was playful, so Hongjoong knew there was nothing to worry about.

"I did nothing!" Hongjoong exclaimed, looking offended.

"He looked really...flustered, when he came out to deck." Yunho explained.

"Oh really?" Hongjoong smiled. "I told him to call me only by name when there's just the two of us, since we spend so much time together and sometimes I need a break from hearing the word Captain, you know?" Yunho hummed in understanding.

"Was that all you did to him or...?" Yunho pressed, still not satisfied with the answer.

"Okay, maybe I did offer him to wait for me while I changed clothes..." Hongjoong continued. Yunho opened his mouth in a fake gasp and Hongjoong punched him on the arm for it. "I was behind the wall! He couldn't even see anything." Hongjoong rolled his eyes.

"He's gonna report you for unwanted sexual advances." Yunho joked.

"Oh shut up! Don't even joke about that." Hongjoong groaned, shoving Yunho away.

"I'm sorry, it was in bad taste." He smiled sheepishly and put his arm around Hongjoong's shoulders. "Won't do it again." He kissed Hongjoong's temple and Hongjoong pushed him away softly.

"Alright, alright, but we're in public Mr. First Mate, let's keep things professional." Hongjoong warned him. Yunho let go of him but not without scoffing.

"Professional, sure."

* * *

Yeosang had been wandering around town for the day, stealing petty things to trade with other homeless people or sell them for a few coins and get himself some breakfast or lunch. He was just biding his time. He had overheard some guards talking about the cargo ships that were coming in that day and he had already planned out what he would do to ensure he could get a good bounty.

If he did well enough, he might be able to buy the cheapest ticket out of this planet and make his way elsewhere, look for better opportunities. If he did complete his goal, he would need to go back home to get all his documentation. He didn't really want to see his mother again, afraid that even glancing at her would make him want to not leave Tebos, but he knew it was a trial he would need to overcome by himself.

As he went around the main plaza, he glanced at the clock and noticed it was time for him to start moving towards the port. He was a little bit nervous, as this was the biggest robbery he had attempted so far, but he had studied the place carefully to ensure there would be no mistakes. Plus, he had invited some others to his little heist. At best, they would all get a good bounty and go on with their lives; at worst, Yeosang could use the distraction and escape to safety.

He knew it was cruel to think of the others as a distraction, but it was something they all knew would happen if it came down to it. It was, as some would say, survival of the fittest, and they would all willingly drop each other if it meant getting out unscathed. Yeosang tried not to think too much about how that mentality was wrong, because if he did, he would be easily left behind by the others. 

The path he followed towards the port was dark and small. His town was full of tall, crooked buildings that extended towards the sky and were too close together, making perfect alleyways to escape from the soldiers or to lure inexperienced people. He had spent his childhood memorizing them, and now they had become his temporary home.

As he walked, others joined him on his way to the port, taking slightly different routes to make it less suspicious. When they finally arrived, there were several cargo ships lined across the port. The guards supposed to be taking care of the security were scattered around, lingering with no real intention of doing much. One or two ships had their own security, but they seemed from one of those cheap private agencies.

While they scanned the ships and planned how to divide them and what they would do, Yeosang's eyes fell upon a different, smaller ship that seemed out of place among the cargo ships. Something about it felt familiar to him, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. The ship was gorgeous, and it also looked quite expensive, so he felt the need to check it out.

"I'll take that small ship over there," he informed the others, who looked at him like he was crazy.

"That's not a cargo ship." One commented, feeling the need to state the obvious.

"I know, I still want to check it out." Yeosang insisted.

"That is not what we agreed on, you're alone on this one." Another person commented, and Yeosang shrugged.

"I don't mind that." For some reason, he didn't want to bring them with him. It felt like that ship was only meant for him, and he felt okay not getting their help. "Let's go."

* * *

"You look upset." Yunho told Hongjoong as they waited for Siyeon to come back. She was the best at bartering from the three of them, and she insisted on doing it alone or they would slow her down.

"Yeah..." Hongjoong nodded, but was too lost in thought to reply.

"What is it? Maybe I can help." Yunho insisted softly.

"I'm just thinking about what San said, that this place was much like home." Hongjoon explained, letting out a long sigh.

"And it bothers you to think that he lived on a planet like this one." Yunho complemented.

"Just look at this place! This planet is part of the Kim Empire..." Hongjoong huffed. "I wasn't sure at first but I recognized the uniforms of the patrol soldiers, what is my father doing?" His voice was low but Yunho could tell he was in a bad mood.

“And what do you want to do?” Yunho asked.

“I don’t know, I’m not sure there is something I can actually do right now, since I am undercover.” Hongjoong sighed, ruffling his hair in frustration. Yunho grabbed his hands tightly and pushed them down. “We don’t have money to help a whole planet, which shouldn’t even need help.”

“Alright, we can’t help them now, but as the Prince, what can you do to help them in the future?” Yunho continued, helping Hongjoong think things through.

“Remember them,” Hongjoong said with certainty. “I can remember them and take note of the things that need to be changed, and then present it to my father.” Yunho smiled and nodded.

“What a smart Prince.” Yunho squeezed his hands softly. Hongjoong smiled and took a deep breath.

“Thank you for helping ground me.” Hongjoong said.

“Anytime,” Yunho pressed a kiss to his forehead and let go of his hands.

Hongjoong took a few deep breaths and made a mental note of everything he had observed about Tebos so far. At that moment, Siyeon returned to them. Her face indicated that she didn’t bring the best of news, but they kept their hopes up. 

“The least expensive place so far, but still pretty expensive.” She sighed. “Plus, I heard some bad news.” Hongjoong groaned.

“What is it now?” He asked.

“Now? Did something else happen?” Siyeon raised an eyebrow, but Yunho shook his head.

“I’ll fill you in later, what happened?” Yunho insisted, not wanting to stress Hongjoong out again.

“Apparently the amount of robberies has gone up recently, and some people heard rumors of a group stealing from cargo ships.” Siyeon explained. “And we’re surrounded by cargo ships today.” Hongjoong sighed.

“Let’s head back,” the Captain said. “Let’s make sure everything is in order and then we’ll deal with the fuel.”

* * *

Yeosang approached the beautiful dark vessel with white sails carefully. He was mesmerized by it. Something about it called to him, and it felt almost familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember what it was. He paced around the ship for a moment, admiring it, before he focused on finding an entrance. 

He recognized the ship model from a ship his father had worked in previously. Everything he knew about ships was thanks to his father, even if he somewhat hated to admit it. Still, he had to admit that his father had given him the dream of becoming the captain of a ship. This particular model was refined and less common, since it possessed very high specs and it wasn’t particularly cheap to produce.

Whoever owned this ship was a person of fortune and power, exactly what Yeosang was looking for. If he remembered correctly, there was a little entrance close to the propellers, made for ease of access when they needed maintenance in space. It wasn't a strong point of the vessel, since it was necessary to ensure that a person doing maintenance wouldn't be locked out, but it was also well hidden due to this. Yeosang passed his hands around the ship over and over until eventually he found the little latch and pulled on it.

"Got it," he grinned when he noticed it hadn't been locked from the inside and the door opened to the maintenance area of the ship.

Someone had probably left it open from a previous maintenance check and had forgotten to lock it. That was a beginners move. If things went well, maybe they could learn a lesson from their stuff being stolen by Yeosang; if not, well, Yeosang would have more important things to worry about than teach them a lesson.

He pressed his arms against the floor of the ship and pulled himself up, trying to keep his voice quiet as he struggled to lift his own weight. He hadn't been eating properly for days so it was difficult to make use of all his strength, but eventually he made it in. After some careful consideration, he decided to close the hatch and just hope it would be unlocked when he came back, since living it open could attract other burglars.

Slowly, he made his way around the maintenance area of the ship, paying special attention to any noises that could indicate someone else was there with him. It was a risky move, truly, since when else would be a better time to perform maintenance on a ship than when at port, but it was also his best shot. The ship was dead silent however, and as he gained confidence, he started moving quicker with his goal set on the captain's quarters.

"Stop right there." A cool voice said.

Yeosang turned around as his hand went towards his belt, where he kept a dagger he had been using during his life in the streets. His hand didn't make it that far, however, as he stopped as soon as he felt the tip of a sword pressing against his neck. In front of him stood a man, eyes dead cold and expression serious. His stance was flawless as he held the sword perfectly still against Yeosang, and he knew that this could only come from years of training. Whoever was on board this ship wasn't just any rich merchant if they could hire people with these skills.

His expression went blank, giving away nothing as he stared the man down with a similar glare, almost daring him to go further. Yeosang's hand inched little by little towards his knife. He knew he couldn't win against an electric chimera with a common dagger he had found among his dad's left behind belongings, but he wasn't going down without a fight either. Just as his fingers grazed the handle of his dagger, another voice spoke from behind him.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you." Said the voice, as the mouth of a gun pressed against his back. Yeosang sighed.

"Don't bring a knife to a gun fight, or so they say." Yeosang moved his hand away from the dagger and raised both of his arms, admitting defeat.

"Wise choice." The man in front of him said, but his sword pressed more against Yeosang's neck, prickling him sightly. Yeosang hissed.

"Don't do that San!" The man behind him sounded scandalized as he moved the gun away and forced Yeosang's arms behind his back, easily holding both wrists with one hand.

"Sorry, I am not kin to people stealing on my ship." The man named San said as he sheathed his sword.

Yeosang noticed they were putting nothing on his wrists, so he made an attempt to pull them away and run, but the grip only grew tighter, making him yelp. How could someone be so strong? He turned his head around as much as he could, trying to take a glance at the person holding him down, but all he got was an uncomfortably kind smile and a shrug. That made no sense.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you, I don't want to accidentally break your wrists." The man warned, looking only slightly apologetic.

"We should tie him up and take him to the main deck," San suggested, turning around. "I'll go look for something to tie him up with, keep an eye on him."

San left and the two of them stood in the middle of the little hallway in uncomfortable silence. This was, by far, the most humiliating thing Yeosang had gone through since he had started living on the streets, stealing to make his days. How could someone hold him down so easily with one hand? He knew he wasn't the strongest, and he certainly wasn't in the best shape due to his situation, but it still felt like a little too much.

"Who are you?" The man asked him. Yeosang could tell there was curiosity in his voice, but he remained silent. "I guess not telling me anything about you might be better for you..."

"How are you so strong?" Yeosang asked instead, exasperated because he couldn't move.

"I've been doing heavy work since I was young?" The man replied, but he didn't sound very certain.

They stayed in silence after that until San came back and changed places with the other man, who held him down while San tied up a complicated knot around Yeosang's wrists. He tugged at the knot but it didn't shift even slightly, which raised his suspicions that San had definitely been trained as something. Just who was the owner of this ship?

"Let's go Jongho, the Captain will want to see him once he gets back." San ordered, and the other man, Jongho, nodded and pushed Yeosang towards the main deck.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey can I ask you a favor?" Yunho raised an eyebrow at Yeosang's question.
> 
> "I don't think you're in any position to be asking favors." Yunho scoffed, but paid attention anyway.
> 
> "Would you consider not handing me in?" Yeosang knew that was to ask a lot, but he might as well try.
> 
> "You have no shame, do you?" Yunho had to laugh, slightly taken aback by the bold question.
> 
> "Shame can only draw you back, and I try to only go forward." Yeosang shrugged, it was worth the attempt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really tired emotionally, mentally and physically, and I completely forgot to post yesterday, I'm sorry. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. Enjoy the chapter!

San had left Jongho with Yeosang at the main deck while he left to explain the situation to Hwanwoong, who was in charge at the moment. The crew was just sort of staring at him while they focused on their own stuff, and Yeosang felt like a circus attraction. Of course, none of the normal crew members had expected something like that to happen. The soldiers, on the other hand, were all on high alert thinking maybe someone had figured out their true identities.

Jongho noticed none of this as he kept a close eye on Yeosang, observing him with curiosity as Yeosang sighed repeatedly, letting him know he was not very happy with this situation. He was sitting on the floor of the deck, hands tied behind his back being crushed by his back as he leaned on the rail of the deck. It was uncomfortable. Plus, he really just didn't want to be tied up like that.

"So... Why our ship?" Jongho asked finally, tired of only observing Yeosang as if he could get the information through some sort of telepathy.

"It's a very expensive model, only someone with fortune and power would be able to acquire it," Yeosang explained, not even looking at Jongho. His voice held a hint of annoyance. "Plus it looks brand new, either it is new or they pay a lot for maintenance."

Jongho hummed in agreement. He had also thought something similar when he had first seen the ship he would be working on. He had spent his whole life near ships, repairing them and building them, so he could recognize an expensive ship when he saw one. The difference was that he was not looking to steal anything when he first boarded it, and hadn't even thought much about who Captain Hongjoong was.

"And why are you stealing?" Jongho asked again.

"There are only two reasons why someone steals, they are either in need or they covet something, which one do you think I fall on?" Yeosang scoffed, getting a little on edge by the questions. Jongho didn't seem to be fazed.

"I'd say the first one," Jongho replied after thinking it over for a few seconds. Yeosang's eyes widened slightly and Jongho noticed. "Well, you felt a little weak when I was restraining you before, have you been eating properly? Plus... You don't look like a bad person." Jongho shrugged.

Yeosang stared at him for a few seconds before sighing and looking away. It was embarrassing, how a complete stranger could look straight through him and still be kind despite what he had tried to do. Truth be told, Yeosang didn't like stealing that much, he was just desperate. Sure, there was a certain thrill to it that he appreciated, but there were surely other better ways to feel like that, right? He just needed to get out of that planet.

"Will you tell me your name?" Jongho asked again. His voice was soft, like he had realized the change in Yeosang's demeanor.

"Kang Yeosang," Yeosang replied, voice small.

At that moment, Hongjoon, Yunho and Siyeon returned to the ship. Hwanwoong reported to them immediately, summarizing what San had told him about the situation. Hongjoong cursed under his breath and locked eyes on the prisoner, approaching him without hesitation. Jongho looked away as he did, he had never seen the Captain so serious and threatening.

As soon as he was close enough, Hongjoong grabbed Yeosang by the collar and hoisted him up, causing him to yelp. Jongho gasped next to him, this being the first time he saw his captain do anything remotely aggressive. Yeosang coughed slightly and looked at Hongjoong with a defying glare, not willing to back down even with his hands tied behind his back.

"Who else was with you?" Hongjoong asked, not wasting time.

"Other homeless people, I don't really know their names." Yeosang replied, voice hard and steady. The glint of something in Hongjoong's eyes when he said the word homeless didn't escape his eyes.

"How many came into this ship?" Hongjoong asked next.

"Only me." Yeosang didn't dare look away. Hongjoong did, however, as he confirmed this answer with the rest of the crew, who had already checked the ship for other potential stowaways.

"Did you take anything?" Hongjoong looked back at Yeosang, who still didn't seem to want to back down.

"He didn't." Jongho spoke this time, surprising both Yeosang and Hongjoong. "We found him shortly after he got in through the propellers' maintenance door, he couldn't have gone anywhere before we found him."

Hongjoong looked Yeosang in the eye, looking for something that would give him away as something more than a petty attempt of a burglar. When he didn't find it, he let go of his collar and turned to walk away. Yunho stopped him, if only to ask him for permission to conduct his own little interrogation.

"Just don't be too hard on him," Hongjoong warned, walking back to his quarters to discuss with Siyeon and San what to do about the fuel.

Despite the warning, Yunho took Yeosang to the hold, the most isolated area of the ship. They didn't really have any shipment of importance, and instead stored their non-perishable supplies there. He sat Yeosang down on a simple wooden share and then sat in front of him, face void of expression. Yeosang observed his surroundings and took a mental note on how no one would hear him scream if he did.

"What is your full name?" Yunho began with a simple question.

"Kang Yeosang." He answered easily. It didn't matter if he tried to keep his identity secret since he had already told Jongho anyway.

"Were you born here?" Yunho was testing him, seeing how much he was willing to share.

"Yes, I've lived here my whole life." Yeosang wasn't going to back down easily, though. He had walked into the wolves' den and he was going to own it up. If he got intimidated at that point, then what did that make him?

"Family?"

"Only my mother," Yeosang tensed up, this was crossing a territory he didn't like. "I don't see how that matters, though."

"Does she know you've become a wanted burglar?" Yunho raised an eyebrow. "Kang Yeosang, I heard your name whispered around the streets earlier."

"I don't think she would care if she knew." Yeosang scoffed. It was true, his mother probably wouldn't care. She had never cared about anyone else but his father, even though Yeosang had tried to be there for her even when his father had left. It hurt, but it was the truth. "Don't try to pull the 'your mother would be so disappointed if she knew' card, it won't work on me."

"Oh, I wasn't going to," Yunho chuckled. "Let's be real, that rarely ever works."

"Then why are you asking?" Yeosang was growing exasperated. The questioning seemed to be going nowhere and it was so slow he felt like losing his mind.

"I have my reasons," Yunho shrugged. "I want to know who I'm going to turn with the guards before I do so."

Yeosang seemed to freeze at this, his mask of bravery falling apart for a few seconds before his surprised expression turned into one of rage. He wasn't stupid, of course he had suspected they would turn him in with the police, but they had kept him around for so long he had started hoping that wouldn't happen. Yunho seemed slightly surprised at the change in his demeanor.

"Why are you so angry?" Yunho asked. "You're the one who tried to steal from us, it is only fair."

Yeosang closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The man in front of him was right. It was only reasonable that they turned him in, the guards had been looking for him anyway, but he couldn't help but feel angry. The other homeless people had been right, he had been crazy for trying to get into a ship that wasn't even a part of their original plans. He had been ambitious, but beyond that, he had been a fool for following his instincts.

"Not gonna answer that? Fair enough." Yunho clicked his tongue. "Why The Crescent, why this ship?"

"'Cuz I felt like stealing from this ship, okay?" Yeosang bit back, too pissed to even care about being proper. "I already told the Jongho guy that only someone rich and with power could afford a ship like this, especially one so new or so well maintained."

"So you have no idea who is on board his ship?" Yunho pressed further. Yeosang would have thought it was weird if he wasn't too mad at himself for his stupidity.

"If I knew I wouldn't be here would I? Everyone here is too well trained to be a good target of a simple burglar like me." Yeosang groaned, remembering how San had stood in front of him, posture perfect and calculated. "Pretty sure that San guy would have killed me if Jongho hadn't stopped him." 

Yeosang raised his head, showing Yunho the faint trace of blood on it that had formed after the encounter with San. He could feel the dry blood uncomfortably clinging to his skin, but tried to not think too much about it. Yunho observed it with sharp eyes before nodding. He was a little bit surprised about San; he was cold, sure, but he had never exhibited knowledge on sword fighting. He would have to ask him about it later.

"Then you're nothing but a petty burglar caught in the act, got it." Yunho seemed satisfied with his answers and stood up to leave.

"Ouch," Yeosang chuckled, the insult getting to him a bit. "Hey can I ask you a favor?" Yunho raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think you're in any position to be asking favors." Yunho scoffed, but paid attention anyway.

"Would you consider not handing me in?" Yeosang knew that was to ask a lot, but he might as well try.

"You have no shame, do you?" Yunho had to laugh, slightly taken aback by the bold question.

"Shame can only draw you back, and I try to only go forward." Yeosang shrugged, immediately wincing slightly. His arms were starting to get numb from having them tied behind his back for so long.

"I'll send someone to look over you," Yunho replied instead, leaving the room.

Only after Yunho left, did the name of the ship sink into Yeosang's mind, making him gasp. What was going on?

* * *

Yunho went to join Hongjoong and the rest at the quarters after asking Mingi to look over Yeosang while he informed their Captain about it. When he arrived, it seemed like the issue regarding the fuel had been solved already, as Siyeon was taking Hwanwoong with her to go negotiate for it. Hongjoong briefed him about it, explaining to him that they had opted to buy enough to go to another planet and then refilling the tank completely over there.

"How did the questioning go? You didn't do anything to him, did you?" Hongjoong asked. His tone was a bit playful but Yunho could tell he was tense.

"I didn't do anything more to him than San or Jongho did." Yunho raised his hands defensively, excusing himself.

"San and Jongho?" Hongjoong raised an eyebrow, slightly worried. Only he would worry about the health of a burglar trying to steal from his very own ship.

"Yes, apparently San prickled him with the tip of his sword, there was a little bit of blood, but nothing much." Yunho explained simply, hoping the lighthearted tone would help calm him.

"San? That's unexpected..." Hongjoong mumbled.

"I agree, he does look scary sometimes but he still doesn't seem the type to do something like that." Yunho shrugged. "Anyway, we should go hand him over to the guards."

"Not yet," Hongjoong shook his head.

"What? Why not?" Yunho was surprised, he had thought they would be done with this quickly.

"I'm just not sure about it yet..." Hongjoong's voice grew quiet, like he was trying to hide something, but Yunho knew him too well.

"You're worried about his homeless status, right?" Yunho sighed. "Hongjoong, he tried to steal from you, that's a crime-"

"He tried to steal from me because he has the need to, which is very different!" Hongjoong protested, not willing to back down. "And who created that need? My family, Yunho." 

"I understand where you are going, but I don't think this is where your sympathy should be going to..." Yunho's voice was soft, placating, he didn't want to anger Hongjoong.

"To whom should it go then? He's my people, and I don't feel comfortable turning him in when it is partially my fault that this happened in the first place." Hongjoong crossed his arms over his chest and Yunho groaned.

He knew Hongjoong was right and it exasperated him, because it would be far easier to just turn Yeosang in and keep Hongjoong safe like that. What if Yeosang wasn't who he said he was? What if he was trying to bring them harm? But Hongjoong didn't like to go the easy way, he liked to do what was right, like his brother had taught him, and even though it was obnoxious at times, Yunho loved him for it.

"Fine," Yunho conceded, sighing. "What will you do then?"

"I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out." Hongjoong smiled, walking over to hug Yunho. "Thank you, I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Wooyoung had spent most of that day going in and out of consciousness, trying to figure out what time it was wherever the crew was at the moment to see if he could catch them in their dreams. He hadn't managed to meet with anyone so far, but sleeping with the necklace provided an interesting experience. He had his first prophetic dream again, but this time with way more clarity and details.

He prepared to fall asleep again. He wasn't even tired, but eating dinner had helped make him feel sleepy. Plus, trusting himself to the necklace actually helped, almost like it lured him to sleep by itself. Wooyoung settled under the covers and closed his eyes. His breathing slowed down little by little, until eventually he couldn't hold any clear thoughts in his mind. The last thing he thought of before waking up in the dream realm was Yeosang.

When he opened his eyes, Wooyoung found himself in an old house. It was made of wood, and the floor creaked slightly when he began walking. At first, there was only the sound of his steps and of water flowing outside the home. He peaked through a window and found himself in a little town built around canals and with buildings so tall they covered most of the sky from where he was.

As he went further into the house, he noticed the sound of crying. The voice was high-pitched, but the crying itself was subdued and constant. When he tried to find where the crying was coming from, he heard Yeosang's voice speak to the crying person, trying to calm them down. Soon Wooyoung realized that the crying was coming from Yeosang's mother. He followed the voices until he was right outside of the room, observing.

"Mom, it's alright," Yeosang repeated, trying to get his mother to stand up from the floor. "Stop drinking, and stop crying about dad, it's not worth i-"

He was silenced by a slap. Wooyoung gasped, covering his mouth with both hands. Yeosang looked at him briefly but didn't say anything. The sound of the slap had been so deafening that for a second he hadn't been able to hear anything else but the echo of it. Yeosang's right cheek turned red almost immediately, resenting the hit, and in his eyes Wooyoung could see a mix of anger and sadness.

"Mom-" He began again, but the woman just wailed harder, hitting him on the chest repeatedly. "Mom, stop it."

But the woman just wouldn't stop. Sighing, Yeosang grabbed her arms and pulled her up delicately, hugging her tightly until she stopped trying to resist and just cried herself to exhaustion. When she was done, Yeosang guided her to her room and then returned to where Wooyoung was, still frozen on the frame of the door.

"So this is a dream?" Yeosang asked. His right cheek had begun to swell, and Wooyoung couldn't stop looking at it.

"Yes..." Wooyoung nodded. Seeing Yeosang like this, when in his previous dream he had been so confident, hurt him.

"That's good, it would be a shame to discover I didn't have the courage to leave..." Yeosang sighed, approaching Wooyoung, who looked shaken. "I'm okay, it's just a dream, silly." He smiled, but Wooyoung shook his head.

"Can I...?" He extended his hand towards Yeosang's cheek, who looked at him with curiosity, but nodded anyway.

Wooyoung placed his hand softly on Yeosang's cheek. The latter winced slightly upon the contact and closed his eyes, but Wooyoung shushed him softly as he focused on altering Yeosang's dream self, reducing the swelling until it was no more. He was so focused on tending to Yeosang that he didn't realize when the other opened his eyes and openly stared at him until their eyes locked.

"Ah, sorry." Wooyoung went to pull his hand away, but Yeosang grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"It's okay, your hand feels really cool," Yeosang nuzzled his cheek against Wooyoung's hand, closing his eyes and sighing in relief. "Thank you."

"It's nothing..." Wooyoung mumbled, eyes trained on Yeosang.

A few minutes later, Yeosang had guided him outside of the house and had invited Wooyoung to sit next to him on the little deck they had outside the house, feet dangling over the water. They stayed in silence for a moment. Wooyoung focused on taking in the image of Yeosang's hometown, curiosity filling him as he wondered where Yeosang was from and how the place he had grown up in was like. As he wondered all of this in silence, Yeosang spoke.

"I found the ship you showed me," his voice was small, like he was unsure. "At least I think I did..."

"Really?" Wooyoung's voice came out louder than he had intended, a product of his excitement.

"Yes, The Crescent, they're anchored at my town right now..." Yeosang explained, but Wooyoung sensed something was wrong.

"But...?"

"But I am not on good terms with them...?" Yeosang chuckled, he was uncomfortable.

"How so? Have you met the crew before?" Wooyoung asked, turning to face him. Yeosang mumbled something but he couldn't catch it. "What was that?" Yeosang sighed.

"I tried to steal from their ship." Yeosang repeated, loud and clear this time.

"Oh..." Wooyoung said. "That is not what I was expecting."

"I can see that..." Yeosang groaned.

"Why?"

"Just because?" He didn't want to explain his reasoning all over again, especially not to Wooyoung, who probably had already a bad impression of him. "I didn't know it was the ship you told me to look for at first, I probably wouldn't have done that if I had known."

"Probably?" Wooyoung raised his eyebrows, and Yeosang winced. "Where are you right now?"

"In their hold, sleeping with my hands tied to my back..." Yeosang explained, and Wooyoung looked horrified. This was not how he expected his future boyfriends to treat each other. "It's not too bad, really, they've been really kind. The guy they left me with, Mingi, is quite sweet." Yeosang smiled, shrugging it off.

"And what will they do with you?" Wooyoung asked, hurried.

"Probably hand me over to the guards, I'll be prosecuted under charges of serial robbery and get out in a few years, maybe." Yeosang listed.

"Serial robbery?!" Wooyoung yelled this time, surprising Yeosang.

"I'm... sorry?" Yeosang looked sheepish, like he was genuinely sorry but didn't know how to properly apologize or react.

"You better be," Wooyoung stood up, grabbing his necklace.

"What are you doing?" Yeosang stood up right after him, slightly panicked.

"Well, the omen or whatever won't work if you're in jail, so I'm going to get your freedom back." Wooyoung huffed, focusing all of his attention on the necklace.

"H-How? You're just a dream? A figment of my imagination?" Yeosang asked, genuinely confused. Wooyoung glared at him and he immediately shut up, only then realizing Wooyoung was probably more than 'just a dream'.

"I'm gonna go see the captain of the ship." Wooyoung stated. His mind focused on Hongjoong, on his name and his face, on what Wooyoung had felt the first time he had dreamed about him.

"What?" Yeosang tried to ask, but Wooyoung was already gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm going to ask you one question, and depending on your answer, I'll decide what to do with you, alright?" Hongjoong asked him, lowering his voice so it felt a little more private.
> 
> "Alright," Yeosang nodded. His thoughts were going a mile a minute, but he focused on the question.
> 
> "Why are you doing this?"Everyone had already asked him that question countless times since he had been captured, even Wooyoung, but this time, Yeosang decided to be honest.
> 
> "I want to get out of this planet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New week, new chapter of Crescent! It's been super cold here lately so there might be quite a few typos because writing is hard when your hands are freezing, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Remember to leave kudos, comments and follow me on my social media at the end notes! You can also reach out to me if you want, I'd love to chat!

Hongjoong's dream was similar to the Yeosang's dreams that Wooyoung had visited. He was once again in a ship, sailing through space. Everyone on board was wearing the uniform of the Kim Empire's military, so Wooyoung knew he was in a royal vessel and this was probably one of Hongjoong's memories rather than a full dream.

He walked around the deck, carefully looking at all the faces to see if he could identify the Captain of The Crescent, but when Wooyoung found him, Hongjoong didn't look like what he had expected. He looked younger, probably no older than fifteen, and was sitting with an older man that Wooyoung barely remembered from a previous dream. If he was right, that was Taejoong, Hongjoong's eldest brother that had passed away in battle.

It made him a little uncomfortable that Hongjoong looked so young, but he had no time to lose. He approached Hongjoong and touched his shoulder. Hongjoong immediately reacted by drawing his sword and pointing it at him, and Wooyoung yelped. The rest of the dream vanished around them, and Hongjoong looked older again, like how he had looked when Wooyoung had first encountered him in dreams. 

"Who are you?" Hongjoong asked. His stance was tense and his eyes promised to slice him in half if Wooyoung wasn't careful. Fortunately for him, they were in a dream, and as far as he knew, he couldn’t actually hurt him.

"Jung Wooyoung," He answered, looking at the point of the sword and then at Hongjoong. "And you are Kim Hongjoong right?"

"How do you know my name?" Hongjoong pressed forward, making Wooyoung step back. Despite knowing it was a dream, the sword looked very much real and he was still afraid of getting hurt.

"I know a lot of things about you that you probably don't want others to know, like how you're the third in the succession line of the Kim Empire-" Wooyoung didn't get to keep talking as the sword pressed against his neck, making him stumble on his words. It felt terrifyingly real, was he wrong about his assumptions?

"How do you know that?" Hongjoong enunciated each world carefully, and Wooyoung worried that maybe dreams didn't work as he thought they did, because he felt pretty much like he could die at any moment.

"Because we're in a dream!" Wooyoung exclaimed, raising both hands in defeat and praying Hongjoong wouldn't actually try to slice his head. 

"What?" Hongjoong looked taken aback for a moment, and Wooyoung used the opportunity to grab the sword by the blade, carefully. It turned into smoke in their hands, vanishing into the nothing.

"See? We are in a dream, none of this is real, and I can't hurt you." Wooyoung clarified, realizing how this could actually put Hongjoong more on edge.

"How?" Hongjoong looked at him with a mix of distrust and curiosity.

"Let's just say I am... sort of a message from the Universe?" Wooyoung shrugged, doubting the omen joke would work on him.

"So you are not a product of my dreams?" Hongjoong seemed to relax a little, which was ironic, because Wooyoung thought he should be afraid about someone being able to invade his dreams.

"No, I am a real person, and I am here because I need to ask you for a favor." Wooyoung went straight to the point.

"A favor?" Hongjoong's eyes widened slightly. "How could you need a favor from me? I don't know you."

"But you know Kang Yeosang," Wooyoung pursed his lips, hoping that the mention would at least keep Hongjoong's attention on him.

"How...?" Hongjoong's eyes widened even more, and he was starting to look comical.

"I feel like you're going to ask me that question a lot..." Wooyoung pouted, crossed his arms. He didn't want to tell Hongjoong what he was as much as he didn't want to tell anyone else. His people had been hunted for since they began existing, wanted for their ability to become predictors of the future. "I was in his dreams just now, and he told me you're going to hand him over to the guards."

"This is a lot to process..." Hongjoong mumbled, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. 

Wooyoung felt a little bad, because he had given Yeosang a better chance to process things, but he was just dropping everything on Hongjoong and expecting him to understand. He was in a hurry, of course, but he still felt like Hongjoong deserved a better explanation than this. The best he could do now, though, was make him more comfortable. Wooyoung focused his mind and energy into manifesting a room around them, small and cozy, in hopes that it would help.

Hongjoong stared at him, both confused and marveled. It seemed like he had so many questions for Wooyoung, but he didn't quite know where to start and they didn't have the time for it either. Wooyoung guided him to sit down and then sat down in front of him. He took a deep breath and proceeded to try talking it out with Hongjoong again.

"That was really not a great start for us," Wooyoung sighed. "I promise I'll let you ask any questions you have, but I really need your help." Hongjoong seemed to consider it for a moment, but nodded afterwards.

"What do you need my help with?" Hongjoong asked finally.

"Please keep him from going to jail, it will mess up a lot of things if he does." Wooyoung explained. He knew it was a lot to ask for, but who else but the Captain would have the ability to stop something like that?

"He was trying to steal from my ship, though." Hongjoong pointed out, and Wooyoung exhaled loudly.

"I know! That was such a stupid move from him!" Wooyoung grumbled, remembering Yeosang's face when he had confessed to the crimes. "I don't agree with him stealing, but I really need you to help him."

"Are you two dating?" Hongjoong asked, a small smile making its way to his lips.

"What? No! No..." Wooyoung's face turned as he tried to deny it. They weren't dating... yet, because according to the Interpreter, they would, but that was something Wooyoung didn't want to think about yet. It scared him.

"Sure..." Hongjoong's smile widened, but decided not to press further.

"So... Will you do that for me?" Wooyoung asked again, looking at Hongjoong with hopeful eyes. It was kind of cute, and Hongjoong had to look away.

"You said if I don't it will mess up a lot of things..." Hongjoong said, still trying to get a little bit more information from him.

"It will... I- I can't explain you right now, it's not the right time, but I wasn't lying when I said I was sort of a message from the Universe, please believe me." Wooyoung grabbed his hands, squeezing them softly, looking at him with the best pleading eyes he could muster. Hongjoong blushed slightly and looked away.

"I will try my best, but Yunho is not going to like it..." Hongjoong muttered, remembering how Yunho had opposed him delaying Yeosang's arrest. He was glad he had done it now, though, because getting someone out of jail was far more difficult than not having them arrested.

"Yunho is your boyfriend, right?" Wooyoung asked, smiling brightly one his request had been accepted.

"Yes... How-" Hongjoong began the question but stopped once he noticed Wooyoung pouting at him. "Right, message from the Universe and dream traveler, you probably know far more than I want to be aware of..."

"I probably do..." Wooyoung nodded, knowing that feeling all too well. "Thank you so much, really, I promise I'll explain everything next time we see each other, if I'm not in a hurry again..."

"There will be a next time?" Hongjoong asked, opening his eyes wide. Wooyoung chuckled softly.

"Oh, you'd be surprised... There will be many next times," Wooyoung stood up. "Good night." And just like that, he was gone.

When Wooyoung woke up in his hotel room, he immediately ran to the bathroom to throw up. He hadn't realized how tiring it could be to visit dreams and control them as well, that was probably the reason Interpreters required so much training. He sighed deeply as soon as he was done and went to brush his teeth, mind wandering back to the two people he had visited before.

He honestly couldn't believe there was going to be a relationship happening, especially with how some of them had met. Yeosang trying to steal from the ship had probably put Yunho against him, because while Hongjoong was quick to forgive and help others, Yunho was much more reserved. Or, at the very least, that was what Wooyoung had been able to deduce from his dreams. 

What worried him the most, however, was not them getting along, not exactly. It was that he still wasn't sure what his full purpose was. The Interpreter had told him that they would face very difficult challenges in order to get the treasure, but so far nothing had been too bad. Was something worse waiting for them? Wooyoung was worried, but until he could get to them, he would have to be patient and hope they would be okay.

* * *

Hongjoong woke up with a bit of a headache. He could remember his dream almost perfectly but couldn't quite believe what had happened, and still, he didn't doubt Wooyoung had been real. He couldn't quite understand why Wooyoung had been so insistent about him rescuing Yeosang from being tried, but it had seemed so important for the other that he hadn't been able to refuse.

When he looked to the other side of the bed, he realized Yunho was no longer there, and he felt a little surprised that the other hadn't woken him up. A bad feeling filled his stomach and he quickly stood up. He dressed up and left his quarters in a rush, and just like he had feared, he saw San and Jongho holding Yeosang between them, while Yunho had a discussion with Hwanwoong.

"I'm telling you the Captain said 'not yet'." Yunho repeated himself.

"Why would he even say that? He's a criminal!" Hwanwoong replied.

The crew was tense, and Hongjoong noticed Jongho wince at the word 'criminal'. What had even happened while he had been asleep? Hongjoong stepped forward and claimed the attention of the rest with a loud whistle.

"What is happening here?!" He yelled. He noticed the way those around him stood up straight, and huffed.

"I was on my way to deliver the burglar to the authorities, Captain." Hwanwoong explained, eyes fixed to the front. He was acting too much like a soldier for Hongjoong's taste, but he could discuss that with him later. "First Mate Yunho stopped me and said you'd decided not to hand him over yet."

"And then why are you handing him over?" Hongjoong asked, slightly exasperated. "I did tell Yunho we weren't handing him over just yet." Yeosang looked up at him at that moment, surprised.

"But-" Hwanwoong tried to rebut, but a simple glare from Hongjoong was enough to stop him. "Understood, Captain." Hongjoong felt a little bad, they were cousins, and he knew Hwanwoong had the best intentions, but he could sometimes go overboard.

"That does not mean I'm forgiving you that easily, though." Hongjoong continued, this time looking at Yeosang.

He approached him. San and Jongho were still holding onto his arms, the first looking calm as he waited for orders but the second one looking tense as he looked back and forth between Hongjoong and Yeosang. Pretty much all of the crew was staring at them, unable to fully understand the strange exchange that was going on in front of them.

"I'm going to ask you one question, and depending on your answer, I'll decide what to do with you, alright?" Hongjoong asked him, lowering his voice so it felt a little more private.

"Alright," Yeosang nodded. He couldn't believe Wooyoung had really visited Hongjoong's dreams and convinced him to help him. His thoughts were going a mile a minute, but he focused on the question.

"Why are you doing this?" Hongjoong asked. Everyone had already asked him that question countless times since he had been captured, even Wooyoung, but this time, Yeosang decided to be honest.

"I want to get out of this planet," Yeosang said. His voice was firm, despite the fact that inside he was feeling worried and anxious. "I'm saving to buy myself a ticket out of this place." 

"And why do you want to get out of here so badly that you're willing to commit a crime?" Hongjoong pressed further, wanting to break down the story to its smallest parts. He wanted to trust Wooyoung, but to do so he had to trust Yeosang, and he couldn't do it unless he understood his intentions fully.

"You say it like I killed someone," Yeosang mumbled. It hurt a little, even if they were strangers, that they looked down on him like that. "You must not be from here, but this place only gets worse day by day; it's almost impossible to get a job or even study." 

"So you want to get out of here to get a job?" Honjoong raised an eyebrow. The emotion in Yeosang's voice told him that was not it.

"I want to get out of this place to get a better life for myself, and to be able to afford the help my mother needs!" Yeosang yelled, exasperated. San held him tighter when he felt him move towards Hongjoong, and Yeosang complained. He had wanted to keep it to himself, ashamed of what his life had turned out to be, but Hongjoong wasn't letting him. His eyes glistened with unshed tears, but he wasn't about to cry in front of his captors. "Maybe find my father, I don't know. This place is fucked up, what do you want me to tell you? How can I make you believe me?"

"I believe you." Hongjoong replied instantly, making everyone turn around to look at him in surprise. "I'm sorry." He added right after.

With a nod of his head, Jongho and San let go of Yeosang's arms, and Jongho untied him. Yeosang stretched his arms as he looked at Hongjoong in disbelief. Did he really believe him? Was this some sort of trap? Apparently he wasn't the only one feeling confused like that, because everyone was staring at their captain with a mix of disbelief and surprise. 

"Why are you apologizing?" Yeosang asked. That had been what had taken him aback the most.

"For pressing you to say those things in front of everyone," Hongjoong shrugged. He looked apologetic and uncomfortable. "We all have things we want to keep from others."

Yeosang almost wanted to laugh, what kind of person was this? Hongjoong had looked so intimidating the day before when the others had told him about the intruder, but now he looked kind and his presence was small and simple. He couldn't help but feel even more curious about the identity of the captain of the ship, who looked nothing like what Yeosang expected him to look like, having the money to own such a vessel.

"What now? D-Do I just get to leave?" Yeosang asked, earnest. He was still rubbing the burns on his wrists, product of the ropes San had tied before.

"What do you say if I get you out of this planet?" Hongjoong asked instead.

"What?" Yunho exclaimed immediately, approaching him. "Captain, this is not what we discussed before."

"I know, but I also never said I would limit myself to what I said before." Hongjoong gave Yunho a look and that was enough to shut him up and make him step back again. That was exactly what Yeosang had witnessed on their first meeting, so how could he go from that to looking at him with absolute kindness. "Do you know anything about space ships and navigation?"

"I know everything there is to know," Yeosang answered enthusiastically. "My father was an amazing sailor, the best in Tebos; he taught me everything I know."

"Alright then, what does everyone else think about taking him in?" Hongjoong asked.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Yunho muttered next to him, but Hongjoong only chuckled.

"That's what you say about most of my ideas," Hongjoong rolled his eyes. "Anyone else?"

"I think it's a good idea..." Mingi mumbled, raising his hand slightly. Hongjoong nodded, an indication that he could talk. "I spent the night watching him and we spoke a little, he is very nice." Mingi blushed as the attention fell on him, but Hongjoong smiled at him encouragingly. "He does know a lot about ships, he explained everything about this vessel to me, and I am part of the crew."

"I also think we should take him in." Jongho agreed, supporting Mingi's words. Other people voiced their agreement, and some just shrugged, like they didn't know what they wanted.

"I'm with Yunho on this one, but I also know there is no stopping you once you make a decision." Siyeon interrupted, sighing loudly. Hongjoong smiled at her sheepishly.

"What do you think San?" Hongjoong looked at San, surprising him slightly. He hadn't commented anything during the previous discussion, so he was surprised that Hongjoong had asked for his opinion specifically.

San looked at Yeosang for a second. He knew all too well what it was like to live on a planet that had barely anything to go on, he was a victim of this as well. He had also wanted to leave his own planet, and the only way for him had been to become what he was today, an assassin. San didn't particularly enjoy killing others, but he knew there were worse ways to make a living. 

Did he want Yeosang to go back to that? He didn't know him well, but it would be a lie to say he didn't feel at least a little sympathy. Of course, having more people on the ship would only make his own task even more difficult, but Yeosang wasn't at fault for his task. Besides, with how thin he was, he wasn't even a threat. It would probably make no difference.

"I think..." San hummed. "I think it's okay if he stays." He nodded, and Hongjoong smiled.

"Well then, in that case, whoever thinks we should have a new crew member, raise their hand." Hongjoong instructed as he raised his own hand.

A few crew members were quick to follow him, those who had been moved by listening to Yeosang's story. A few more joined after a moment of consideration, deciding that if their Captain trusted Yeosang, they would too. In the end, more than half of the crew had put up their hands, and Hongjoong told them to put them down.

"I think that settles it, then." Hongjoong put a hand on Yeosang's shoulder. "Welcome to The Crescent."

"Th-Thank you," Yeosang stuttered, still unable to believe that it was actually happening, that he was getting off of Tebos.

"You should go home and get all of your official documents if you'll be traveling with us, take Mingi with you." Hongjoong ordered. Mingi nodded and walked over to Yeosang, hugging him for half a second out of excitement. He had really come to like Yeosang during the time they spent on the hold talking, and he was glad they would get to work together now. "Siyeon, what is the state of the fuel situation?"

"They'll be coming to fill our tank in about half an hour, and then we can leave." Siyeon informed him.

"Excellent then, I'll leave that to you," Hongjoong smiled satisfied. "Let's get ready to set sail again!" He ordered, and the crew dispersed to go back to their respective works while Mingi and Yeosang went to pick up his things.

Yunho approached Hongjoong and pulled him along to his quarters. Hongjoong had already expected something like this, and let Yunho pull him along without resistance. He knew Yunho was probably a little mad that he hadn't followed his advice, but he knew something that Yunho didn't, and that was that, according to Wooyoung, Yeosang was supposed to be with them anyway. 

Something about Wooyoung had intrigued him, and Hongjoong wanted to trust him desperately, so he was willing to give Yeosang and opportunity. Plus, Yeosang had won himself a place in the ship with his words. Hongjoong wished he could have helped his mother back before she passed, so if he could help Yeosang with his mother, it almost felt like redemption.

"Why do you not listen to me?" Yunho asked him once they were in the privacy of their quarters, crossing his arms.

"I listen to you, I just don't follow everything you say." Hongjoong pointed out, but judging by Yunho's expression, that was the wrong thing to say. "Okay, then I have a question for you, why don't you trust me to make good decisions?" 

"I do trust you..." Yunho's expression fell, as did his arms. "I do trust you, you're smart and an amazing strategist, I know you have your reasons for every choice you make." Yunho ran his words, he was obviously frustrated. Hongjoong approached him and placed both hands on his cheeks, making him look at him.

"But?" He asked softly. Yunho sighed and relaxed on his hold.

"But I'm worried about you," Yunho started, holding Hongjoong's hands in his. "What if he is not what he says he is? What if your identity leaked out somehow and someone is trying to kill you? You know full well your family has dangerous opponents out there.”

"Yeah, that's a good reason to be worried, I agree." Hongjoong nodded. "But I have you." Hongjoong smiled. "I know I am safe when I am with you, because we keep each other's backs. We would never let anything happen to the other."

"Don't say that," Yunho pouted. "I feel even more responsible now, what if I can't protect you?" Hongjoong kissed his pout way, chuckling.

"I'm sorry, but don't think like that." Hongjoong caressed his cheeks softly. "We are also capable of protecting ourselves baby, remember? I am not your priority Yunho, I'm your equal, worry about yourself first."

"Fine..." Yunho nodded. "But I'll complain a lot about it." Hongjoong chuckled.

"You already do."

* * *

Yeosang guided Mingi through the town's alleyways towards his house. He had to be mindful of Mingi's legs while also keeping in mind that he should avoid being spotted by guards and angry townspeople. Captain Hongjoong may have decided to not press charges, but that didn't mean there weren't many others out to get him.

"Your town is pretty..." Mingi commented at some point while they were crossing a small bridge.

"You think so?" Yeosang stopped to look around. All he saw were dark buildings and decks, the canals taking up almost every street, and a blue sky that was barely visible through the roofs of the tall buildings.

"Yeah," Mingi nodded, stopping next to him and observing as well. "There is always so much dust where I come from. It's red and dry. I prefer it here." He shrugged, following Yeosang when he started up again.

"What did you do before coming here?" Yeosang asked him, curious about Mingi's past since he had already shared his own with everyone else.

"I was a miner in Merth X-24, that's why they hired me, since I have experience with explosives and all that." Mingi smiled, looking proud of himself.

"That's pretty cool!" Yeosang asked. He took a glance at Mingi's missing leg but decided not to ask. If Mingi wasn't going to share on his own, then he wouldn't press him about it.

"I also wanted to get out of my planet, see the rest of the Universe for a while..." Mingi added. "So I understand why you want to get out of here."

"Thank you, actually." Yeosang said. "For standing up for me back there, even though you barely know me."

"You seem like a nice person, so I don't see why you shouldn't join." Mingi smiled.

The rest of the little trip went on in silence. In just a few minutes, they were outside his home. Yeosang peaked in to see if his mother was home, but when he saw the place was clear, he invited Mingi inside and quickly went to his room to pack himself some clothes and pick all of his important documents. 

He felt like he should say goodbye to his mother, at the very least. But she was scared about confronting her and he also didn't know when she would be back, he couldn't be late to his first 'day of work'. Instead, he quickly scribbled a lengthy note to his mother and left it where she would see it. Then he grabbed his things and met with Mingi in his living room.

"Ready to go?" Mingi asked him with a soft smile.

"I've never been more ready to leave this place, let's go."

They walked for a while, at a slow pace so Mingi wouldn’t struggle to catch up. They were mostly silent, although Yeosang would tell him curiosities about his town here and there. He was grateful to Mingi for helping him back in the ship. Deep down, Yeosang hoped they could become friends.

"There he is!"

Someone yelled behind them. They stopped in their tracks and turned around, finding a good sized mob armed with a mix of guns and other makeshift weapons. Yeosang didn't even need to look at them closely to know those were all the people he had been stealing from, along with a couple of guards he had pissed off, and even other people living in the streets that he had crossed paths with at some point. He hadn’t thought he had that many enemies.

“Oh fuck…” Yeosang muttered.

Without giving it much thought, he grabbed Mingi's hand and began running.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What is going on?!" Hongjoong asked as he approached Jongho, noticing the mob himself. "Good fucking lord I'm gonna have to talk to Yeosang about this." He groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie I almost forgot to update today I'm so sorry sknsknsksn Enjoy the chapter!

San managed to sneak away from the crew when Hongjoong and Yunho locked themselves in the main quarters and he was forced to wait before he could go back to work. Instead, he went down to the hold and made sure there was no one there but him. Once he had made sure, he took out his communicator and contacted his boss. When he answered, San knew just by the look on his face that he was in trouble.

"Soldier San, code CS-710-28, reporting sir." San saluted.

"Fancy seeing you, code CS-710-28!" His boss replied with sarcasm. "You know, it's been quite impossible to get a hold of you, I wonder why that is?"

San didn't have an excuse. He had been thinking about his mission over and over, but each time he found himself less willing to commit to it. It wasn't only because it was difficult. San hated to admit it, but all the people he had killed before had deserved it to a point, at least most of them. Hongjoong, on the other hand... He just wasn't sure there he did.

"My apologies, sir." San bowed deeply. It was nothing to appease his boss, of course, but what else could he do.

"Stop with the useless apologies!" He yelled, and San cringed, looking around to make sure the sound hadn't brought unpleasant attention.

He didn't find the idea of killing Hongjoong very appealing anymore, but he absolutely detested killing people who weren't his target, even for the sake of fulfilling his mission. When nobody came to check what was going on, he exhaled deeply and stood straight, looking at his boss. His boss' face expressed perfectly all the anger he was feeling, and San hoped things wouldn't escalate.

"I imagine you haven't even fulfilled your mission yet, have you?" His boss asked, pointing a finger at him.

"No, sir..." San bowed his head slightly, knowing that not even looking sorry would be worse.

"You fucking-!" 

San was quick to mute the call as his boss began to yell, his heart racing as he looked around once more. This had been a terrible idea. He should have used the opportunity and left the ship in order to make the call, and although the sound outside provided a bit of protection, there wasn't much he could do if there was someone outside of the hold. When his boss stopped yelling, San unmuted the call.

"Did you mute me?" His boss asked, face race with anger as he sat down again.

"Yes, sir." San nodded. "Sorry sir, I didn't want to bring unwanted attention to the place I'm in currently."

"At least you still have some brain left in that useless head of yours," his boss huffed. San tightened his lips but didn't say anything. "I want progress code CS-710-28, I don't care if you lose a limb or die for this mission, because if you don't, they're gonna want to have my head on a silver plate."

"Understood, sir." San nodded.

As soon as the call ended, he put away his communicator and sighed. This was starting to get out of his hands and he didn't know what to do about it anymore. The more that time passed, the less he saw an opportunity of getting alive out of this mission. It was a problem that he didn't even feel particularly moved to do anything about it, especially since waiting had become the only way to extend his life.

After taking a few minutes to calm down, he exited the hull and went up to the deck. He didn't notice Hongjoong and Yunho right outside of the door until they called for him, startling him enough to make him yelp. He walked towards them, a mild feeling akin to panic settling in his stomach. They couldn't have been listening in to his conversation, right? They wouldn't look so calm if they had.

"San, come here for a moment," Hongjoong beckoned him over, motioning for him with one hand.

"What is it, Captain?" San asked as he approached them, heart beating fast in his chest.

"I told you to call me Hongjoong..." Hongjoong complaining, frowning. San blushed slightly, peaking at Yunho who looked amused at most.

"You said to do so when there's no one else," San muttered, looking back at Hongjoong, who laughed at his reply.

"Yunho barely counts as a formal crew member," Hongjoong said jokingly, shrugging it off when Yunho complained at him about the amount of work he got in that case.

San stared at them bicker softly for a moment, bewildered. He knew, from the information he had read to prepare for his mission, that they were both dating. Yet, it was so weird to see them interact like that in reality, so intimate with each other even at moments when they weren't alone. San had never been like that with anyone, and he couldn't help but feel curious.

"Are the two of you dating?" The question escaped his lips before he could even think it over properly. He already knew they were, why had he even asked? "Ah, sorry..." He apologized quickly, but Hongjoong broke in a fit of giggles.

"Damn it! I lost the bet," he complained, pushing San softly. "Why did you have to ask first?!" San looked at him in complete confusion, the situation made absolutely no sense to him. What bet? And why was he part of it?

"We're gonna have to pay Siyeon," Yunho chuckled. "We could not tell her, you know? Since she wasn't here."

"That's lying Yunho," Hongjoong pouted. "I don't like lying."

"I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?" San interrupted, slightly annoyed that he didn't know what was going on when he was, somehow, involved.

"I'm sorry, please don't be mad." Hongjoong was quick to apologize, face turning into one of worry in just seconds. San felt bad for making him feel bad, and he didn't like that.

"To answer the multitude of questions in your mind, yes, we are dating," Yunho intervened, calmly taking over the explanation. "We're not particularly akin to keeping it hidden though, but we didn't want to be obvious about it either. Siyeon and Hwanwoong are close friends of ours, and we decided to bet who in the crew would ask first."

"I honestly thought it would be Jongho, he has caught us more than a couple times." Hongjoong sighed, pushing his hair back.

San couldn't help but notice how his brown roots were starting to show, and he caught himself swallowing. Hongjoong's pink hair had already been losing color when they first met, and had looked closer to white more than anything, but now his roots were beginning to show, and it gave him a completely different look. Yunho seemed to notice if his grin was anything to go by when he touched Hongjoong's hair while looking directly into San's eyes. San had the decency to look away instead.

"I thought it'd be Mingi, with the way he always gets so flustered around everything," Yunho shrugged. "You need to touch up your roots." The comment was simple, but it was enough to make San's cheeks burn red.

"Why did you want to speak with me?" San was quick to change the topic, wanting to just leave the two be their disgustingly cheesy selves in peace.

"Ah right," Hongjoong seemed to remember why he had beckoned him in the first place. "I just wanted to know if everything was alright with you? I heard you say something weird when we first arrived to the planet and it worried me a little..."

San looked at Hongjoong with mild confusion and tried to think back to their arrival. Had it been when he mentioned how Tebos reminded him of his own home planet? Was Hongjoong worried about him? It was obvious he was trying to push him to say something, but if San revealed where he came from, they would immediately suspect him. It was sweet, but really unhelpful to his will for fulfilling the mission.

"Well, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want," Hongjoong was quick to add when he noticed San wasn't going to speak up. "Just know I'm here if you want to talk."

"Thank you Cap-" San interrupted himself when Hongjoong gave him a warning gaze, and quickly corrected his words. "Thank you Hongjoong, I'll keep it in mind. I'll go if you don't need me for anything else?" 

Hongjoong and Yunho both shook their heads no and so San left. He went all the way to the Forecastle Deck, wanting to get away from them as much as possible. Once he was there, he let a long, relieved sigh out, and leaned against the railing, just grateful that he had been able to get away from that one. For all he was trying to delay his inevitable death, everyone seemed to want to make it an impossible task for him.

"What did I get dragged into...?" He sighed, ruffling his hair. He needed to make a decision quick, before it was too late.

* * *

They took a detour from the main streets and used all of the alleyways Yeosang knew of. They couldn't go too fast because of Mingi's leg, but at the very least the lack of space would make it more difficult for the mob to chase them.

"Why are they chasing you?!" Mingi yelled as he did his best to follow Yeosang's pace.

It hurt him every time he had to step hard onto his wooden leg, but he didn't complain. If he stopped even for a second to do so, the mob would catch up to them, and he didn't feel like being beaten with sticks and pipes.

"Promise you won't be mad at me!" Yeosang yelled, looking back briefly to assess the situation, and then making a sharp turn to his right. "Or that you won't think differently of me!"

"Why would you be worried about that?" Mingi was worried, was it something that bad that Yeosang was worried.

"I want us to be friends!" Yeosang yelled, blushing slightly. Mingi gaped at him for a few seconds, before nodding. Then he realized Yeosang wasn't actually looking at him.

"I promise!" Mingi shouted back.

"I stole from all of them!" Yeosang explained.

"You what?!"

As they made another turn, the port became visible to them, and both began running faster now that they were so close. Jongho was waiting for them and he seemed confused at their running until he noticed the very angry mob running behind them. He quickly turned to alert the rest of the crew.

"What is going on?!" Hongjoong asked as he approached Jongho, noticing the mob himself. "Good fucking lord I'm gonna have to talk to Yeosang about this." He groaned.

Hongjoong was quick to descend the ship as he noticed Mingi trip. Instead of running, Yeosang went back for him and threw himself over Mingi, he wasn't very big, so he couldn't offer much protection, but it was him whom they wanted anyway. They quickly disappeared from Hongjoong's sight as the mob closed in on them, and Hongjoong ran towards them with his sword transformed into some sort of baton.

Yunho and the rest of his soldiers quickly followed him to protect him, not even waiting for his orders. Yunho wasn't particularly worried about Hongjoong, having seen the glare he had directed at the poor people that had decided to attack one of his own. Hongjoong descended on them with fury and speed, quickly diverting the attention of some of the assailants towards him, who weren't very happy of someone interfering with their revenge.

Their Captain wasn't kin on hurting people for fun, so he was holding back, but even then the townspeople were no match for him. Honjoong disarmed a couple of men by hitting their arms with the baton. Not even the nasty cracks that could be heard from some of his hits deterred him. The rest of his soldiers were quick to help him, and soon, they had managed to make a path to Mingi and Yeosang.

"Get up, quickly!" Hongjoong yelled as he kicked one man in the stomach, pushing him to the floor. "Hwanwoong, get them to the ship!" He ordered.

Hwanwoong hit a man on the leg, making him fall to his knees, and then bashed him on the head to render him unconscious. As soon as he was done, he made his way towards the pair and put Mingi's arm on his shoulders, helping Yeosang carry him to the ship. Hongjoong was right behind them, making sure no one got close enough to hurt them, and Yunho joined him right after.

As soon as they were far enough from the biggest part of the mob and Yeosang and Mingi had boarded the ship, Hongjoong whistled to get the attention of his crew. Everyone immediately began to back up, running towards the ship while trying to keep the angry mob at bay. Hongjoong waited on the ground, wanting to make sure his crew was safe before boarding.

When almost all of the crew had made it up, Hongjoong heard a gunshot. It didn't hurt anyone, fortunately, but he could clearly see the dent on his ship where the bullet had broken through. His eyes darkened as his baton morphed into a sword, and electricity started flowing through it, crackling like a thunderstorm.

"You dare fire against my crew?" He growled.

Everyone froze around him. Hongjoong advanced towards the townsfolk that had previously been attacking them and now stood frozen in fear. If Hongjoong had possessed the ability to kill with his eyes, everyone would have fallen dead by now, but the threat of his electric sword was far more real. 

The people moved away as he walked towards the man that had fired the gun. Yunho focused on getting the rest of the crew aboard the ship, and then followed Hongjoong, ready to pull him back and run away. Finally, Hongjoong stopped in front of the man and raised his sword, pointing it directly to the man's chest.

"Come on, do it," Hongjoong dared him. "Fire the gun against my crew again, and I'll stop your heart." His tone was low and dark.

The man had begun sweating profusely. The hand that was holding the gun pointed towards the ship shook as he lowered it slowly, dropping the gun to the floor. Hongjoong scoffed before letting out a laugh, he was still holding his sword millimetres away from the man's chest as everyone looked at them. 

"That's what I thought." Hongjoong put his sword down and walked away.

He didn't turn around or try to keep an eye on the man, he knew he wouldn't be picking up that gun again any time soon. Yunho gave him a warning look, but Hongjoong only smiled and shrugged it off, the dangerous look disappearing from his eyes. All of the crew was looking at him with a mix of fear and amazement, but Hongjoong paid them no mind, he was used to it.

As soon as they boarded the ship, Hongjoong made his way to the wheel and ordered them to pick up the anchor. Soon enough, they had set sail, and with the new location marked in their map, Hongjoong left Hwanwoong on the wheel and went to check on Mingi and Yeosang. He could still feel the way his heart had dropped in his chest when he had seen the crowd engulf them.

Handong, the ship's medic, was tending to both of them in their little infirmary. She had already finished patching Yeosang up, who had nothing but a few scratches and purples blotches where the crowd had hit him while he was covering Mingi. The latter, on the other hand, was lying on the bed with his eyes full of tears of pain. 

The stump of his leg was red where his wooden leg had dented when he fell and had scratched him all over as it came loose. It wasn't a serious injury, fortunately, but he still seemed very upset and in pain. As Handong healed his wounds, Hongjoong sat down next to him and held his hand softly, trying to bring him some consolation.

"I'm so sorry Mingi," Yeosang apologized, and by the look of Mingi's face, Hongjoong could tell this was not the first time he had done so.

"I told you it's fine," Mingi sniffled, trying really hard not to cry, especially now that he was being given such sweet attention from his Captain.

"I'm really sorry though, you should have told me it was hurting you to walk so fast," Yeosang looked distraught.

"You're worse for wear, why would someone do something so dumb like covering me?" Mingi retaliated, even more upset. "You're so small too, it should've been the other way around."

"I'm not small! I just didn't want you to get hurt because of me-"

"Alright, I'm stopping you two right there," Hongjoong intervened, raising a hand. Handong shoot him a grateful look as she finished patching Mingi up. "What is this? A lovers' quarrel? You two met yesterday." He joked, and it seemed to work well enough as they both blushed but stopped arguing. "Mingi, are you alright?"

Hongjoong decided to ask the miner first. He had been with him for longer and seemed to be the one upset about the situation the most. Mingi nodded, but didn't dare to look at Hongjoong, and he wondered if it was because he had gotten scared about his little 'power demonstration' from earlier. He decided not to insist and focus on Yeosang instead.

"How about you Yeosang?"

"I'm okay, a little roughed up, but I'll live." Yeosang replied, unable to hold back his mild sarcasm. Hongjoong laughed it off and nodded.

"That I can see..." Hongjoong sighed. "Thank you for protecting Mingi, even though the situation itself was pretty much your fault." Hongjoong added, carefully observing Yeosang's expression. Yeosang pursed his lips but nodded.

"I know, I'm sorry..." Yeosang sighed. "I really didn't think that would happen."

"It's alright." Hongjoong smiled. "The good thing is you're both safe, so rest for now, I have to go do other things."

He made sure they were comfortable before leaving the room. As he was walking out, he stumbled upon Jongho who was hurrying into the room, looking worried sick. Hongjoong thought of stopping him halfway and telling him it was alright, but in the end he decided to just let him go and figure it out himself.

Yunho met him at the main deck. He had just finished giving instructions to the crew about what they would be doing next, since they needed to take care of the fight that had happened in Tebos and also get safely to another planet to fill their tank. Yunho gave him an unimpressed look as Hongjoong approached him with a wide smile.

"You made one hell of a show down there," Yunho commented offhandedly. Hongjoong's shoulders raised with pride as he gently pushed his boyfriend.

"It was fun, I have to admit I do miss the battleground a little bit," Hongjoong chuckled.

"To be chased by an angry mob for serial robbery is not, in my opinion, fun." Yunho huffed. Probably only someone like Hongjoong would say it was fun. Everyone else in the crew had looked very stressed out when he had jumped right into the battle without giving it a second thought.

"I guess not," Hongjoong shrugged, smile still on his face.

"You know, if you miss it, you can always ask me out on a duel." Yunho suggested, looking at Hongjoong.

"Don't you mean ask you out on a date?" Hongjoong looked back at him, slightly confused.

"No, I meant a duel, I know you miss sword fighting and all that," Yunho smiled at him, but his voice was serious. "We can ask the crew to keep away from the deck for a little while and spar, it might also be a good way to deal with the tension you've been getting from the whole... treasure hunt."

"You know what?" Hongjoong smiled, grabbing Yunho's hand. "That's not a bad idea, thank you."

"Oh, are we doing more public displays of affection now?" Yunho raised an eyebrow.

"Why? We can't?" Hongjoong smiled teasingly at him, interlacing their fingers. "It's not like we did a great job at hiding it before."

"You're very right about that, but..." Yunho let go of his hand and turned him around, using his hands to push Hongjoong towards his quarters. "I'm afraid you have work to do, Captain, we'll have to be affectionate some other time." 

"Unfair!" Hongjoong complained, but he still let Yunho guide him. 

"Only to you," Yunho smiled. "And usually in your favor anyway, so you can't complain."

"Fine," Hongjoong huffed. "See you later then." He pulled Yunho down from the neck of his shirt and kissed him. But just as Yunho was leaning more into the kiss, Hongjoong stepped into his quarters and closed the door on his face.

* * *

Yeosang's dream this time was calm and almost empty. He was sitting on a small deck, with his feet dangling inside the waters of a lake. Wooyoung sat down next to him and looked into the water at their reflections. He met Yeosang's eyes through the reflection and smiled at him, Yeosang smiled back before looking up and looking at the real Wooyoung.

"Did it go well?" Wooyoung asked. He tried his best not to show how he had been worried sick about Yeosang's situation. He had been waiting impatiently for the time to pass so that Yeosang would go to sleep again and Wooyoung would be able to check on him.

"Yeah! I got a really bad beating, but it wasn't from the crew." Yeosang smiled. "I'm a crew member now, actually... And Hongjoong risked his life to save me, as well." He mumbled the last part, and Wooyoung looked at him in surprise.

"He did?" Wooyoung asked, leaning closer to Yeosang. That was not something he had expected.

"Well, he didn't do it only for me, Mingi was there too... Actually, he might have done it for Mingi, it just so happened that I was there too." Yeosang chuckled. "Still, I want to repay him."

"Oh, believe me, you will." Wooyoung smiled. "Your time will come."

Yeosang smiled and they went back to looking into the reflection. They stayed in silence for a little while, just admiring the little waves their feet made in the water, and playing with the occasional fish that would come visit them to the surface. Eventually, Yeosang turned to look at Wooyoung with a serious expression, and Wooyoung couldn't help the way his heart pressed hard against his chest.

"Wooyoung..." Yeosang began, claiming his attention.

"Hm?" Wooyoung didn't want to look at him though, feeling nervous from the serious mood that had settled upon them.

"Thank you for talking to Hongjoong, I really wanted to get out of that place," Yeosang explained, still looking directly at him. "But can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead." Wooyoung nodded.

"What are you?" Yeosang finally asked, but his question came out more breathless than he had intended. "You said you're not just part of my dream, so what are you?"

Wooyoung sighed and pulled his feet out of the water, hugging his legs close to his chest. This was the question he had feared the most. He was afraid of exposing himself, afraid of being found outside of his planet and being captured and sold to the highest bidder. However, this was one of the people destined to be with him, so he had to trust him. Wooyoung was going to choose to trust Yeosang.

"You can't tell anyone about this, alright?" Wooyoung warned him, finally looking at Yeosang. "Honestly it's probably still too early to tell you, but I don't think it'll interfere with the flow of things." Wooyoung mumbled. "Just promise me you won't tell anyone, yet."

"I promise," Yeosang's face paled slightly, suddenly fearful of what Wooyoung was about to say.

"I'm a Somnum, I can see visions of the future and the past in my dreams, and I can also travel to other people's dreams." Wooyoung let out all at once. His chest felt lighter once he did, relieved that he could finally tell someone about it. 

"Wait, Somnum are real?" Yeosang almost yelled, clearly shocked at the revelation.

"W-What...?" Wooyoung looked at him, almost equally surprised. "Of course we are real, I'm here in your dream, aren't I?" Wooyoung scoffed.

"W-Well, yeah, but..." Yeosang laughed, awkward. "I didn't think your species was real... I'd never seen one of you before, you look... human."

"Why? Disappointed?" Wooyoung smiled, feeling slightly mischievous. "Would you prefer me to look like something else?"

"No, actually, it's kind of relieving that you're not... weird looking." Yeosang mumbled, shaking his head. Wooyoung raised an eyebrow and smiled at him, leaning closer. 

"Why is that?" He asked, pressing against Yeosang's shoulder.

"Nothing, stop being annoying." Yeosang pushed him away, making him laugh. "Why my dreams, though?"

"Well, every Somnum has a mission to achieve in their life, and that mission is revealed to us through a dream." Wooyoung explained, looking into the water again. 

"Was I in your dream?" Yeosang asked, feeling slightly daring. Wooyoung looked into his eyes and smiled.

"You were, actually, and some others." Wooyoung remembered the faces of the rest. Everyone was in the ship now, except one, and he wondered how they would find him.

"Who else?" Yeosang asked, excited at the revelation.

"That... I cannot tell you yet." Wooyoung smiled mischievously. "Believe me, you'll figure it out."

"Is Captain Hongjoong one of them?" Yeosang asked out of the blue, making Wooyoung open his eyes wide. "He is! Isn't he?" Yeosang laughed as Wooyoung tried to deny it, but there was no point. "You should get better at hiding your reactions if you don't want others to know what you are."

"Mind your own business." Wooyoung muttered. "One more thing, Yeosang."

"What is it?" Yeosang put his arms behind his back, leaning back.

"Can you tell me where you are heading to? I need to try to catch up." Wooyoung explained.

"I don't think you'll manage to catch up to us on the next planet, we're only going there to fill up our tank," Yeosang explained, looking a bit sorry. "But we're going to Umeri."

"It's okay, I'm not supposed to reunite with you just yet, you're gonna have to wait a little more." Wooyoung smiled, putting his feet back in the water.

"Sure thing," Yeosang smiled, looking up at the star-covered sky of his dreams. "I'll wait for you."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I want to help Hongjoong with the map," he declared as he stood in front of Yunho, stopping him from walking away.
> 
> "That is not part of your duties, also, he is Captain to you," Yunho replied, looking down at Yeosang. "Limit yourself to doing your duties, that's it." Yunho stepped aside to continue walking but Yeosang stepped aside too, blocking him again. He put his hands up to keep Yunho from stumbling on him, and then looked up at him.
> 
> "I learned everything there was to learn from my father, who was the best Space Artist in Tebos," Yeosang's eyes were fierce. "I want to help the Captain." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to update yesterday, sorry about that. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

A few days after the whole incident with Yeosang, Wooyoung found himself in Umeri. Obviously The Crescent wasn't there anymore, but at least Wooyoung was able to keep track of them that way. He had continued visiting Yeosang in his dreams, using the opportunity to learn more about the other crew members.

Yeosang especially liked to talk about Mingi and Jongho, whom he had become close with. Wooyoung liked to hear him talk about them, since he had never seen him act brighter than when he was telling Wooyoung something new he had learned about them. It was endearing, and it also gave him hope that things would go as they were supposed to.

That night, however, Wooyoung decided to visit someone other than Yeosang. Choosing between Mingi and Jongho had been difficult, but in the end he had opted to introduce himself to Mingi first, since he seemed to be the most welcoming out of the two and the less likely to ask questions Wooyoung wasn't ready to answer. It wasn't too difficult to find Mingi's dreams.

The necklace seemed to be especially tuned to the people that formed part of his destiny in a more direct way. Plus, with all the practice he had gotten with Yeosang, he was already learning to identify which 'path', so to speak, led to the dreams of which person. He had also gotten used to sleeping at irregular times, adapting to the schedule of the crew he was following instead, so it wasn't especially hard to find Mingi.

When he entered the dream, Wooyoung found himself in a cozy underground home, which formed part of a larger network of interconnected caves that made up what Wooyoung assumed to be Mingi's hometown. Wooyoung navigated along the corridors following his instinct. Naturally, he had never been there, but he had gotten so much better at connecting with the owners of the dreams that he was able to find his way easily.

He found Mingi sitting with a bunch of kids surrounding him, some half asleep while others followed his hands enthusiastically as he told them a story. Wooyoung quickly realized that this was some sort of nursery, as the floor was covered with thick blankets that served as the kids' beds. He stopped at the entrance of the room and listened in silence to Mingi's story, not wanting to disrupt him.

"And then what did you do?!" One of the kids asked, the excitement making him jump up and down.

"I ran back into the cave, of course!" Mingi laughed, trying to calm the kid down at the same time. "What if someone was hurt and needed help? I couldn't leave them behind."

"Mingi is a hero!" A little girl exclaimed, accidentally waking up one of the other kids that had already fallen asleep. Mingi was quick to soothe the kid back to sleep as he chuckled, prompting the two excited kids to sit back down so he could finish telling his story. The two kids finally sat down, looking up at Mingi with wide eyes and expressions of pure awe. Wooyoung had to keep himself from chuckling since he didn't want to get the other's attention just yet, but it was endearing to see him like that, surrounded by kids.

"What happened next then?" A kid asked, impatient because they wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"So I went back into the mine, right?" Mingi continued, and the kids nodded enthusiastically. "I heard someone crying for help, so I ran to them. A rock had hit their head and they couldn't see because it was dark and they were bleeding!"

All of the kids gasped, and Wooyoung was so absorbed by the story that he couldn't help his own gasp. He covered his mouth quickly, panicking for a moment until he realized Mingi hadn't noticed him just yet. He sighed softly and put his hands down, focusing back on the story.

"It was Lily, as you might remember," Mingi told the kids, who nodded enthusiastically. "I helped her out, but right as we were going to leave the mine, we heard a very loud cracking sound."

Wooyoung leaned closer much like the kids, completely lost in the emotions Mingi portrayed through his voice. For a moment, he forgot this was nothing more than a dream made out of Mingi's memories and he found himself present in his reality, on his home planet, listening to a bedtime story with the rest of the kids. For a moment, he forgot why he was there in the first place and just listened.

"When we looked up, we saw this big boulder breaking off of the mountain and falling towards us!" Mingi made a big gesture with his hands, imitating the sounds of the boulder falling down. "We ran, but we didn't have enough time, so I pushed Lily away from the impact zone with all the force that I had!" Mingi folded his leg and showed his wooden prosthetic to the kids. "The rock fell on my leg and trapped it, so I lost it, but it's okay because me and Lily are alive, and I get to tell this story to you."

Mingi smiled as he was enveloped in hugs by the kids that were still awake. They all told him he was like a superhero and that he was so cool and so brave and Mingi just chuckled, nodding at them and patting their heads. It didn't take long before the kids began asking him to tell them another story, but Mingi shook his head instead.

"You have to sleep, it's late already." He stood up and began tucking the kids in.

Wooyoung was focused observing Mingi's leg, wondering how much it must have hurt him to lose it, and if it still hurt. He didn't realize Mingi was looking at him until he stopped listening to the incessant chatter of the kids and looked up. The kids, the room, everything around them had disappeared and Mingi was just staring at him with a mix of confusion and distrust.

His pose was defensive, and Wooyoung immediately cursed himself for slipping like that. He hadn't meant to disturb Mingi's dream and ruin it for him. The other had seemed to be happy playing and talking to the kids, and Wooyoung wanted to see more of that, but he had been careless and Mingi had discovered him.

"I'm so sorry, I-" Wooyoung began apologizing. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop like that, I didn't know you were talking about-" Wooyoung looked towards Mingi's leg for a moment and Mingi stepped away, trying to hide it with the rest of his body.

"Who are you? What is this?" Mingi asked. He seemed ashamed and confused, hurt. Wooyoung felt horrible.

"I'm Wooyoung, and we are inside your dream," Wooyoung went straight to the point, feeling bad enough for Mingi and not wanting to confuse him more.

"That would explain why I was with the kids and not..." Mingi looked around, wary of the darkness that surrounded them. Wooyoung extended a hand and, with some effort, materialized The Crescent how he remembered it.

"And not on Captain Hongjoong's ship?" Wooyoung offered

"H-How do you know?" Mingi asked, visibly surprised.

"I know a lot of things..." Wooyoung sighed. "I uhm... You could say the Universe sent me here on a mission?" It was getting harder and harder to come up with explanations to hide his identity, and he was beginning to get a bit tired of it.

"So you are like... A messenger from the future?" Mingi asked, not convinced. Wooyoung grimaced but nodded anyway.

"Let's leave it at that for now," He decided, not wanting to make things more complicated. "I'm really sorry, though."

"It's fine..." Mingi looked at his leg. "It's not like I can hide the fact that I'm missing half a leg that easily."

"Yes but it's your story, you should be able to choose who to tell it to," Wooyoung sighed. "I shouldn't have eavesdropped into your story, I should have 'awoken' you as soon as I got here."

Mingi considered Wooyoung for a moment. He understood where his curiosity had come from, since most people asked him how he had lost his leg almost immediately after meeting him, even some of the crew members aboard The Crescent had done it. He didn't like it when people asked him like that, it made him feel like some sort of circus, and a lot of them also pitied him.

Sure, the kids considered him a hero, and even some of the adults at his town had thought of him as one for a while. But after losing his leg he had become basically useless to the community. He was still one of the best at managing explosives, but due to his injury he couldn't work with as much efficiency as before, and the attitude of others towards him had changed because of that.

Still, Wooyoung seemed to understand why it was important to him, and looked truly apologetic. Mingi didn't have the heart to stay mad at this stranger that had found his way into his dream. He sighed and shrugged, deciding it was best to just put this situation behind him. He couldn't be any more self conscious about it than he was already.

"It's fine, don't worry about it anymore," Mingi smiled. "Thanks for apologizing, though."

"It's the least I can do, since I can't undo what I've heard..." Wooyoung mumbled, turning around and observing the rest of the deck. "Is my imitation of the ship good enough?"

"There's a couple of things off," Mingi pointed out, looking around as well. "But it's pretty close, how did you know what it looks like?"

"I told you, I know a lot of stuff," Wooyoung smiled mischievously. "I won't deny I had some help, but you'll figure that out later."

"Why are you visiting my dreams?" Mingi asked instead, not really one to insist over secrets.

"Well, you're part of a very important mission that you and me, and a few others, must carry out!" Wooyoung explained, happy that they were moving past the awkwardness from before.

"And what is that mission? Who are the others?" Mingi felt his interest peak. How could someone like him be part of an important mission in any way? That didn't make much sense. "Are you sure you have the right person?"

"Of course I have the right person!" Wooyoung seemed surprised at this question. "Are you implying the Universe is wrong?" He frowned.

"Well, no, but..." Mingi lowered his eyes, looking at the polished floor of the deck. "Someone like me isn't suited for great things."

"I'm not letting you say that in front of me," Wooyoung grumbled, grabbing Mingi's hands. "The Universe never lies, and I'm a messenger of the Universe, so you're gonna have to stop that train of thought and get off of it."

Mingi looked up at him and blushed, he hadn't expected Wooyoung to be so bold when he had looked so apologetic and small before. Despite their height difference, Mingi couldn't help but feel so small in front of his presence. Wooyoung was looking at him with such an intensity that Mingi felt truly looked at for the first time, and it made his heartbeat pick up. 

"Okay..." He nodded, because he simply didn't know how else to answer to something like that. "Won't you tell me what this is about, though?"

"I can't yet," Wooyoung shook his head. He smiled at him right after and gave a soft squeeze to Mingi's hands. "I'll tell you more when the time is right, but for now just believe in me, okay?"

"Okay..." Mingi whispered.

"I have to go, we'll see each other again!" Wooyoung smiled, giving one last squeeze before disappearing. It took a while before Mingi was able to look away from where he had been standing.

* * *

Yeosang had been briefed on their mission after a couple of days in the ship, and while he had been assigned to more menial tasks aboard the vessel, he had been itching to talk with Hongjoong and offer him his help. As he had told Wooyoung, he felt indebted to their Captain, who had not only saved his life but also offered him a way out of Tebos. Now Yeosang wanted to repay him doing what he knew best: sailing.

He was helping clean the deck when he saw Yunho pass by and immediately approached him. Yunho was a bit intimidating, and Yeosang was conscious about the fact that, at first, the First Mate hadn't wanted him aboard the ship. But he couldn't just barge into Hongjoong's quarters without permission, and the only one who could give him permission other than the Captain was, for some reason, Yunho.

"I want to help Hongjoong with the map," he declared as he stood in front of Yunho, stopping him from walking away.

"That is not part of your duties, also, he is Captain to you," Yunho replied, looking down at Yeosang. "Limit yourself to doing your duties, that's it." Yunho stepped aside to continue walking but Yeosang stepped aside too, blocking him again. He put his hands up to keep Yunho from stumbling on him, and then looked up at him.

"I learned everything there was to learn from my father, who was the best Space Artist in Tebos," Yeosang's eyes were fierce. "I want to help the Captain." 

Yunho raised an eyebrow and held Yeosang's stare until he eventually closed his eyes and sighed. It was easy to tell that Yeosang was determined to do something more than menial tasks. Yunho could understand, of course, but that didn't mean he liked it. Still, Yeosang had been eyeing him and Hongjoong nonstop since he had joined as an official crew member and it didn't seem like he was going to let it go.

"Fine, I'll take you to talk to him," Yunho conceded, smirking when he saw the smile of victory on Yeosang's lips. "But if the Captain says no, it's no, and you'll go back to fulfill the rest of your tasks."

"Deal," Yeosang nodded, stepping away from Yunho's personal space. "Can I go meet him now?"

"Sure, the sooner he rejects you, the sooner I get my peace back," Yunho couldn't help but smile when he saw Yeosang's offended face turn back at him.

Yunho guided him towards the quarters and knocked twice before opening the door. Hongjoong was slumped on the table muttering something to himself while San paid attention to one of the map segments reflected on the wall. Yeosang gasped. He attempted to walk off and examine the map himself, but Yunho stopped him by grabbing onto the back of his shirt.

"Captain, Yeosang wants to talk with you," Yunho said, ignoring the glare Yeosang was directing at him before letting him go.

Hongjoong sat straight up on his chair and sighed, nodding to signal they could come in. He looked absolutely exhausted, Yeosang noted. From what he had heard from the rest of the crew, they hadn't been able to progress much in their search for the Treasure of the Seven Galaxies. Yeosang couldn't blame them though, that treasure had been looked for for years upon years, and no one had found it yet.

"What is it?" Hongjoong asked, gathering San's attention as well.

"I want to help you decipher the map," Yeosang pointed to the projection box that rested on the table. "I learned everything there is to know about navigation and maps from my father, he liked to go looking after treasures in his free time, I'm sure I can help."

"At this point, I'm willing to accept help from anyone," Hongjoong rubbed his face, frustrated. "We haven't made much progress, I don't know how San isn't going crazy." San just shrugged in response, paying close attention to Yeosang instead.

"So you'll give him a chance?" Yunho asked, masterfully ignoring Yeosang's pretentious stare.

"Sure, why not? Maybe what we need is some fresh input." Hongjoong gestured towards the map. "It's all yours."

Yunho shook his head and sighed in defeat, bidding his farewell before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Yeosang immediately took to pacing around the room, observing the map carefully. The map itself was divided in a grid, but most of the squares were obscured, and when touched, they asked for a password. It was like a puzzle, but instead of placing the pieces, you needed to unlock them.

"Do you know the poem to decoding the passwords?" Yeosang asked. "I know there is one, but I haven't heard it since I was a kid, so I don't remember it well."

"Yes," San nodded. He was still following Yeosang with his eyes when he recited the poem.

_ I left my mark everywhere, _

_ grotesque monsters of jagged teeth. _

_ Under their watchful gaze _

_ the stone-made guardians _

_ protect the steps _

_ that lead the way to the end. _

Yeosang repeated the poem in his head, remembering what his father had told him about the treasure when he was a kid. He remembered then traveling to another town in Tebos, in a completely different continent. It was the place where Thisa had initiated the revolution in his planet many decades ago. His father had taken him to see the statue that had been raised in their honor.

His father had explained that Thisa had hidden clues in these statues, and that he had figured it out after doing research for many years. It wasn't known by many people, and since the map had been lost a long time ago, no one had cared to decipher what the poem meant anymore. But Yeosang remembered, and now he had the map in front of him.

"That's it," Yeosang grinned. "Honestly, it's very simple."

"What is?" Hongjoong asked, perking up at the change in Yeosang's tone.

Yeosang looked for the square that should belong to the code on his planet and touched it once he found it. The panel that gave him the clue and asked for the password popped up. He carefully typed out what he remembered from his visit to the statue as a child, and then hit enter. Nothing happened for a moment, and then the square cleared up, revealing a part of the map that hadn't been there before.

"Fuck!" Hongjoong yelled, standing up and walking towards Yeosang. "How did you do that?!"

San also walked towards them. He seemed genuinely surprised, a look no one had seen on him since their voyage had begun. Yeosang smiled widely, unable to believe it had actually worked. He didn't think he remembered the code so well, but he was glad he did, because now he had proven that he could be useful to Hongjoong.

"The stone-made guardians refer to the statues that were built in every planet where Thisa lead a revolution before collecting their treasure," Yeosang explained, feeling very excited. "I just happened to remember the code hidden in my planet's statue, so I wanted to try."

"You're brilliant!" Hongjoong grabbed him from the shoulders and shook him around before hugging him and then hugging San, who looked positively startled from the reaction. "Finally we're getting somewhere!"

Yeosang blushed at the praise. It was exactly what he had wanted, but somehow it was really embarrassing to actually hear it come out from Hongjoong's mouth. He tried to brush it off nonchalantly, but Hongjoong continued praising him as he went around the quarters, bubbling with excitement. Yeosang's eyes met with San, who looked as confused as he felt, and Yeosang couldn't help but break out in laughter.

"Our next move is to research and make a list of every planet where Thisa led a revolution." Hongjoong immediately started planning. "We should be able to find pictures of most statues in the interspace, but we might still need to make stops on a few planets to get them ourselves"

"Roger that, Captain." Yeosang nodded, beyond ecstatic that he was being of help.

"Let's do this."

* * *

They worked for hours just researching all of the locations where Thisa had led a revolution. There were so many of them that, in the end, Yeosang had to suggest they take a break and eat something, because it seemed like neither Hongjoong nor San were going to call for a break. Eventually, he managed to force them to leave the quarters and get something to eat. 

When they went down to the kitchen to eat, Hongjoong asked them to sit with him since they were the only ones there and he didn't want to be alone. They both complied, feeling a little stiff around Hongjoong since he was their Captain, but he quickly got them to relax as he began to talk. San eventually finished eating and excused himself, leaving Hongjoong and Yeosang alone.

"Captain, can I ask you something?" Yeosang began, looking at this plate instead of at Hongjoong's eyes.

"Sure, what is it?" Hongjoong nodded, paying all his attention to Yeosang.

"Well... Why did you decide to give me that chance to talk and earn my freedom?" Yeosang pushed his food around the plate with the fork. He felt bad for asking this to Hongjoong, but he wanted to know if Wooyoung had really been in someone else's dream. He wanted to make sure that he was real. "Most people wouldn't have done that."

"Well, the good thing is I'm not most people," Hongjoong chuckled, trying to make the atmosphere a little less tense. "Will you believe me if I tell you? There's a really weird reasoning behind it."

"I don't think my life can get any weirder, so shoot." Yeosang nodded. This time he did look at Hongjoong, now that he knew he wasn't angry for questioning him.

"Well, my dream told me to give you a chance." Hongjoong shrugged. He still couldn't explain to himself why he had decided to trust a man in his dreams that was more than likely not even real, but he didn't regret it. Yeosang had helped them progress in a day more than they had in weeks.

"Was your dream about this tall," Yeosang hovered his hand next to himself, "curly brown hair and awfully convincing?" Hongjoong's eyes widened comically, and Yeosang couldn't help a smile. "Seems like Wooyoung did go into your dreams to save me, huh."

"Have you met him?" Hongjoong asked with a bit of a hurry, leaning closer to Yeosang.

"Yes, he visits my dreams a lot." Yeosang nodded. "Well, he's been doing it less these days, I guess he's visiting some of the others that are supposed to be part of this mission he's been talking about."

"Mission? What mission?" Hongjoong asked, his thoughts running a mile a minute.

"I don't know for sure yet, he hasn't told me... How much has he told you? I don't want to ruin it for him." Yeosang narrowed his eyes, looking at Hongjoong suspiciously.

"Nothing much," Hongjoong sighed, slumping down on his place in defeat. "He promised he would visit me again and explain, but he hasn't." Hongjoong looked at Yeosang and smirked. "I guess he's been busy."

"Stop looking at me like that," Yeosang huffed, pushing his plate away. He wasn't hungry anymore. He had spent days on the streets not eating much and now he just didn't feel as hungry as he probably should. 

"Were things really bad in Tebos?" Hongjoong asked, observing Yeosang's half full dish.

"I wish I could say no, but based on the global news, it wasn't just my town undergoing the economical issues," Yeosang nodded, feeling his stomach twist as he thought of his mother.

He regretted leaving without her. He repeated to himself constantly that maybe he could've brought her with him, attempt to give her a better life. But he also knew that as long as he looked like his father, that woman would never truly heal with Yeosang by her side. He missed her dearly, though, even just a few days into this voyage.

"And what about the royal guards? They didn't intervene when the people were trying to mob you." Hongjoong pressed further, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Because they don't get paid enough," Yeosang chuckled. "They're as underpaid as everyone else, it's just that they have a fancy uniform and weapons, and since they don't get paid enough to bother, they just don't."

"That is fucked up," Hongjoong sighed. He felt nauseous just from thinking about how he had lived back in the palace while the people in Tebos struggled to make end's meet. It sickened him.

"It's how things usually are," Yeosang shrugged. "Oh, hello!" Yeosang perked up as he saw Yunho over Hongjoong's shoulder, walking towards them. "Care to join us for supper?"

Yunho eyed him suspiciously before shaking his head. He still didn't trust Yeosang, but he couldn't deny that the man had fulfilled his promise and helped them make progress with the treasure. Still, that didn't mean he wanted to be friendly with Yeosang, who was trying to approach him nonetheless. 

"Good, because I'm actually full and don't want to eat anymore." Yeosang pushed his food even further away and stood up. Hongjoong looked at him, amused, as he chuckled at Yeosang's failed attempt to be friendly with his boyfriend. "I'm going to leave now, would like to get a bit of a walk before our Captain pulls us back to work."

"You can take the rest of the day off," Hongjoong decided. "You're still recovering from the beat up at Tebos, just rest."

"Thank you, Captain," Yeosang smiled. "I'll do just that."

When Yeosang left it became only Yunho and Hongjoong in the little dining area. Yunho sat next to Hongjoong on the table and pressed his head to Hongjoong's shoulder, rubbing it lightly. Hongjoong chukled and patted his head softly, letting him act out before asking what was wrong.

"There's nothing wrong, I'm just recharging." Yunho mumbled, sighing softly. "Spending so much time sailing is way more exhausting than spending it in the battlefield."

"I agree, I guess it's cause the space in the ship is much more limited than a battleground." Hongjoong nodded, still carding his hands through Yunho's hair. "But we should be making a stop somewhere soon, to look for more codes and buy more supplies. You'll get to rest then."

"Alright," Yunho nodded, eyes closed as he continued to press his head to Hongjoong's shoulder.

Hongjoong caressed his hair for a little while before softly pulling on it, asking Yunho to look at him. Yunho groaned, not wanting to move from his resting place even if his neck was starting to feel a little stiff, but eventually he complied and looked up at Hongjoong. With a smile, Honjoong kissed his forehead, then the tip of his nose, and then his lips.

"There, recharged." Hongjoong chuckled, pressing Yunho's cheeks with both hands.

Yunho groaned before wrapping his arms around Hongjoong and hugging him tightly, almost knocking all of the air out of him. Hongjoong erupted in laughter as he tried to push Yunho away just enough to move, but Yunho held him tight by the waist and buried his face on the crook of Hongjoong's neck, breathing in deeply. Eventually, Hongjoong settled and stopped trying to push him away, hugging him back instead and rocking him softly. They stayed like that for a moment, just the two of them, in their little world.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You don't make friends easily, do you?" Yunho asked.
> 
> "Why does that matter to you?" San immediately retorted, posture growing even more tense. Yunho raised his hands in an attempt to placate him.
> 
> "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, it was just a question..." Yunho opened his eyes wide, not expecting this reaction from San. "I genuinely just want to talk to you, I've never seen you interact with anyone else from the crew..."
> 
> "You're worried about me, basically?" San asked, looking at him with distrust, but relaxing a little bit more.
> 
> "Yeah, you can put it that way." Yunho smiled, putting his hands down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I decided to post early before I accidentally forget to post... Again. Quick notice! If you're interested in knowing more about the characters, I've started posting a new mini series named Before The Crescent with origin stories for each of the members which will be revealed as this fic progresses, check it out!

Jongho was lying on his bed, reading a book about other treasure myths and stories. Hongjoong had picked it up for him in the last stop they had made when it had caught his attention. He wasn't much of a reader, but with their hunt for the treasure, he had gotten interested in it. Jongho had never received a formal education, and so everything he knew had been learned from the workers that had taken care of him all of his life.

The reading was simple enough that he could understand it and enjoy it, but every once in a while he would stumble against a couple of words that he wasn't too sure of their meaning. Whenever this happened, he would ask the person closest to him. At that moment, the person was Mingi, who was sprawled on the bottom bunk bed, more asleep than awake. Jongho poked his head from over the railing on his bed and observed the taller man as he fought sleep.

"Mingi..." He called. If Mingi didn't answer, he would just let him sleep and go look for someone else.

"Hm?" Mingi replied back, eyes opening and meeting Jongho's gaze. "Oh, hey..." He yawned softly. "What's up?"

"Do you have any idea what these words could mean?" Jongho asked, passing him the book and using the bookmark to point at the words.

Jongho noticed as Mingi immediately tensed once he received the book. He put it on his lap and just stared at it blankly for a moment, eyes fixed at the point in the page marked by the bookmark. Jongho waited, patiently, maybe Mingi wasn't sure either and was trying to decipher them. He knew how much Mingi liked helping others, maybe he didn't want to disappoint Jongho.

Still, the seconds became minutes and nothing came from Mingi's mouth, and Jongho started to get worried. The truth was that Mingi couldn't read. He had been orphaned pretty early in his life and raised like most kids in an infirmary until he had had the age to work at the mines. The only education he had ever received was how to operate explosives. So as Mingi started at the words, he began to panic, and without realizing, he started to breathe heavily.

Jongho got off his bed and knelt in front of Mingi, grabbing his shoulders with both hands and shaking him softly, urging him to react. Mingi looked at him after a moment and Jongho took the book from his hands, throwing it away. He couldn't understand why Mingi had panicked like that, but that wouldn't matter until he calmed down.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Jongho asked, grabbing Mingi's face with one hand to make sure he was looking at him and was focused on something. "Follow my breathing, it's okay."

Mingi did as he was told, following Jongho's breathing as he looked into his eyes, unable to tear his eyes away. Little by little, his breathing returned to normal and he no longer felt like he was about to pass out. Jongho didn't let go of his face until he was sure Mingi wasn't going to faint in front of him.

"What happened just now?" He asked softly, when he felt like Mingi would be able to reply.

"I'm sorry," Mingi apologized, looking so regretful that anyone would think he had committed some sort of crime.

"Why are you sorry?" Jongho continued speaking in a soft voice to him, softly coaxing the answer out of Mingi.

"I'm sorry," Mingi repeated again, closing his eyes. "I don't know how to read, or write... I-I never learned, I'm sorry."

Jongho's eyes widened slightly before his expression softened once again. So that was the reason Mingi always refused to help when there were documents involved. It also explained why he hadn't wanted to order at the restaurant bar when they had gone, even though he had been staring hungrily at Jongho's food the rest of the night. Mingi didn't know how to read.

"It's okay, it's not your fault." Jongho reassured him, trying to come up with the right thing to say at a moment like that.

"It's pathetic, though, it's such a basic thing... and I can't do it." Mingi sighed, feeling worthless. A little voice in his head shaped like Wooyoung told him he wasn't, but he pushed that voice away, feeling tired and defeated.

"It's not pathetic, you're not pathetic," Jongho insisted, grabbing Mingi's hands. "It's not your fault that you didn't get the chance to learn. There's nothing wrong with you, you're perfect."

Mingi looked at Jongho with big eyes. He almost looked like he was about to cry, but didn't, deciding to hold it in instead because he didn't want to ridicule himself in front of Jongho more than he already had. 

"You do have the universal translator installed though, right? Those are supplied by the government." Jongho asked, wanting to make sure that the situation wasn't worse than it seemed. Mingi nodded. "Then I can try to teach you how to read and write, if you want. I'm sure the others would be willing to help as well."

"No!" Mingi raised his voice, startling Jongho. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, just- You can't tell anyone." Mingi insisted, looking a bit scared. "I don't want them to think badly of me."

"I'm sure they wouldn't," Jongho reassured him, but Mingi's expression told him that he just wasn't ready to believe him something like that. "But it is not my place to tell them anything, so I promise I won't."

"Thank you." Mingi smiled weakly, and Jongho smiled back at him.

"Don't worry about it, go to sleep now." Jongho leaned closer to ruffle Mingi's hair and Mingi stared at him.

His heartbeat picked up as he stared at Jongho from up close. No one had ever told him he was perfect, yet Jongho knew so much about him, about his imperfections, and he had not hesitated when he had looked Mingi in the eye and told him he was perfect. Jongho told him to rest well before getting off of his bed and going back to the top bunk.

Mingi could only stare at him. His heart was beating so fast and loud that it flooded his ears and he couldn't hear anything else. There was no way Jongho couldn't hear it too, but if he did, he had decided to spare Mingi the embarrassment and not talk about it. Mingi, too, decided to spare himself from the conflicts that came with feelings and just covered his head with a pillow and willed himself to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Yunho felt so much better after spending that small moment with Hongjoong. He wasn't necessarily a stranger to sailing through space, but he had never before passed so much time on a vessel with no obvious destiny in sight. He could tell he wasn't the only feeling like that, though, so he knew he had to keep himself in high spirits to motivate the rest of the crew. Yunho did wonder though how Hongjoong wasn't absolutely exhausted of the whole thing yet. He suspected it was probably because he wanted to honor his brother, and nothing would stop him from doing just that.

As he paced around the deck, Yunho spotted San softly stretching on the opposite side. Yunho observed him with curiosity. Since the beginning of the journey, San had kept to himself for the most part; he didn't really speak with the rest of the crew members and was always locked with Hongjoong in the quarters just working on the map. Yunho had heard from other crew members that they found him intimidating.

San had never complained about how much time he spent working on the map, and there was no way to tell only by his expression if he was enjoying it or if he hated the whole thing. Hongjoong had become sort of close to him after spending so much time together, but other than that, no one ever talked to San. Yunho couldn't help but feel curious about him. Especially after what he had noticed when they had revealed the little bet they had going on with Hwanwoong and Siyeon.

To be fair, Yunho understood how people would sometimes be drawn to Hongjoong. He was just attractive in many ways. Yunho himself wasn't jealous, so he found it very amusing when other people showed interest in Hongjoong and then were surprised when they learned about Yunho. Which was funny, because they were hardly ever apart and they weren't secretive about their relationship either.

In a split second, and driven by curiosity, Yunho changed his route and walked towards San. San looked at him at first, but seemed to convince himself that Yunho was just going to pass by and didn't say anything until Yunho stood in front of him. San continued stretching until he noticed Yunho wasn't leaving, and decided to ask him if he needed something.

"Not really," Yunho shrugged. "I was just thinking of chatting with you."

San looked at him with confusion, stopping mid stretch to just look at Yunho from head to toe and then back up again. Yunho chuckled, unable to understand why it would be so weird to San that someone wanted to talk with him. Maybe he was conscious about his intimidating presence. Maybe he was doing it on purpose and hadn't expected someone to bypass it and talk to him. Whatever it was, Yunho had made his decision that he would learn something about the man that day.

"Why are you so weirded out?" Yunho smiled. "I mean, I know we've never had just a chat before, but it can't be that weird, can it?"

"I guess not..." San mumbled, finishing his stretches before facing Yunho.

It was obvious by the straight line his shoulders formed that he was tense, and Yunho couldn't help but find it amusing. San was always so serious and kept to himself, but Yunho had never seen him tense. Now though, he looked uncomfortable and out of place, and he realized that this might be the first time someone from the crew was actually talking to him.

"You don't make friends easily, do you?" Yunho asked.

"Why does that matter to you?" San immediately retorted, posture growing even more tense. Yunho raised his hands in an attempt to placate him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, it was just a question..." Yunho opened his eyes wide, not expecting this reaction from San. "I genuinely just want to talk to you, I've never seen you interact with anyone else from the crew..."

"You're worried about me, basically?" San asked, looking at him with distrust, but relaxing a little bit more.

"Yeah, you can put it that way." Yunho smiled, putting his hands down. "We've barely spent time away from this ship, and I can imagine it might be getting to some of the crew members, so I just wanted to check on you." Yunho shrugged. "It's harder when you don't have someone to rely on."

San sighed and leaned against the rail with his back, tilting his head backwards to look at the black canvas that was space. There were so many stars and planets and whatnot out there, but even with all of that, it was dark. He reckoned it would probably be difficult to see on the ship if it wasn't because the artificial atmosphere it came with emitted a glow of its own. 

"It is a bit hard, yeah," San agreed, letting his defenses down a little. "I'm okay though."

He was very stressed, but it was not for the reasons Yunho was thinking about. Honestly, he couldn't care less about being away from land for so long, it was something he could handle. But the stress of not fulfilling his mission was killing him. He had yet to make the choice of killing Hongjoong and each day it only became harder and harder to pull the trigger on the Captain. 

Of course, that wasn't something he could share with anyone, so he had to carry the burden alone. Plus, even if he could share it by some sort of miracle, no one was willing to approach him, and he wasn't there to make friends, so there was no one to share with anyway. Yunho didn't seem quite satisfied by his answer though, so San guessed he wasn't going to get away from that one easily.

"Why don't you try to approach the others?" Yunho suggested, leaning on the rail by San's side. "Also aren't you close to Hongjoong? You could try talking to him, he wouldn't push you away."

"Well, why don't the others approach me, then?" San huffed, not wanting to have this conversation. "I wouldn't say I'm close to the Captain either..." He mumbled right after, trying to ignore the feeling akin to guilt setting on his chest.

"It would hurt him quite a lot to hear you say that," Yunho smiled slightly, but he seemed uncomfortable. "And the others don't approach you because you look..."

"Scary?" San supplied, having heard that countless times before. "You can go ahead and say it, I don't mind."

"I wouldn't say scary," Yunho shook his head. "Maybe a little intimidating."

"Well, I didn't do anything to intimidate them so..." San shrugged again. "They can just think whatever they want, I'm okay anyway."

"You're a difficult one, aren't you?" Yunho chuckled, looking down at San.

"I get told that often, yes," San nodded, scoffing.

"What is the real reason you don't approach others?" Yunho insisted.

"Why do you think there's a reason?" San crossed his arms and looked back at Yunho, challenging him.

"Well, you're particularly defensive about it, so there must be something, right?" Yunho leaned in closer unconsciously, putting an arm behind San's back on the rail. San briefly looked at it before looking back at Yunho.

"Not really," San let out a deep breath. "Let's just say it's something my people are not very good at."

That wasn't entirely a lie, but it wasn't completely true either. San just had never had an opportunity to socialize. People like him were especially raised, from a young age, to be used as weapons and tools. He knew nothing but the training he had received in proper etiquette, how to act like a normal human being that had grown with a normal background. 

San had never particularly excelled at those classes though. He was an expert at managing all sorts of weapons and carrying out any kind of technical task. He had learned so many languages in case his universal translator ever failed, and he could absorb almost any kind of information. But he didn't know how to properly interact with others. He couldn't pretend to be a friend or play games of seduction.

Because of that, he was usually sent out on missions where he didn't need to interact with people much, and this one was supposed to be like that. He would just get in, kill Hongjoong, and disappear. But it had not gone as it was supposed to, and now he was basically trapped in the ship with no idea of what to do and how to deal with his situation. And he was alone, because he just didn't know how to interact with the others.

"Fair enough," Yunho said after observing him for a while and stepped back. San had to hold himself from sighing in relief. "There's not much that can be done in matters of culture and such." San nodded and stepped away from the railway, assuming that was the end of the conversation. However, Yunho spoke again. "You can come speak to me if you need something to, or to Hongjoong. You don't have to think of us as friends, but we won't push you away."

"Okay," San agreed, his voice quiet and small. "Thanks." He didn't look at Yunho as he said that and just left towards the crew's quarters.

Yunho stalled in the main deck for a little while before going to Hongjoong's quarters to look for him. He found him sitting next to Yeosang, their heads close together as they examined a picture of a statue, probably trying to find the code in it. He smiled, amused, when he noticed the glances Yeosang would spare at Hongjoong every few seconds.

He decided it would be fun to give them a surprise and approached them in complete silence. He looked over their heads at the picture, it was kind of blurry, so no doubt they were looking so closely at it. And after a few seconds waiting for them to realize, he decided to announce his presence.

"What are you looking at?" Yunho asked.

Hongjoong raised his head in surprise and hit Yeosang on the eye by accident. Yunho grimaced at the nasty sound of their bump as they both complained in pain and tried to rub the spots. He felt only mildly sorry as his grimace turned into a laugh. Neither of the two victims paid him any mind as Hongjoong checked on Yeosang to see if he was okay.

"I'm so sorry," Hongjoong repeated, grabbing Yeosang's face delicately to check on him. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Yeosang insisted, trying to push Hongjoong away because he was too close.

Instead, Hongjoong pushed Yeosang's hands down with one hand and used the other to check the affected area. Yunho had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing as Yeosang's face became red and he made the inhuman effort to not look Hongjoong in the face. When Hongjoong was satisfied with his little checkup, he patted Yeosang's head and then turned to confront Yunho.

"Why did you do that?!" He yelled, standing up to confront him. Yunho's shoulders just continued to shake slightly as he laughed, trying really hard to keep it under control. "Stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry!" Yunho tried to pull a serious face before he broke into a wide smile again. "I just wanted to see what you were looking at," he turned to look at Yeosang, "it's not my fault that your reaction was so funny."

Judging by how red his face went, Yeosang knew that those words were directed at him. He stammered an excuse before giving up and just turning to look at the picture again, wanting the ship to swallow him whole instead. Yunho grinned until Hongjoong slapped his arm, claiming his attention back. He didn't seem very happy with his little prank.

"Stop teasing him, you have no rights," Hongjoong reprimanded him. He looked adorable when he wasn't truly angry, just like right then.

"Oh, and you do?" Yunho teased, raised an eyebrow. He could see how Yeosang sunk deeper on his seat from the corner of his eye, and it took copious amounts of strength to not start laughing again.

"Shut up, shut up!" Hongjoong whisper-yelled, looking absolutely scandalized at Yunho, who just shrugged.

"Yeosang, can you give us a moment, I think the Captain has something he wants to talk with me?" Yunho glanced at Yeosang before looking back at Hongjoong, who was trying to kill him with just his stare.

"Y-Yes, I'll be outside." Yeosang dropped everything he was doing and left the quarters in a hurry, gone within seconds.

Yunho turned to look at Hongjoong and smiled, but Hongjoong only looked at him with murderous intentions. The taller man raised his hands in defeat and yelped when Hongjoong hit him on the arm again. Hongjoong could be short, but he was ferocious, and usually only Yunho could get out of it unscathed.

"What was that, Yunho?" Hongjoong asked him, serious this time. "Are you trying to scare him off because you didn't want him on the ship to begin with?"

"I promise I'm not." Yunho's smile softened. "I genuinely just wanted to scare both of you 'cause you looked so focused on that picture, thought it would be fun."

"And?" Hongjoong pressed further, not satisfied with that answer.

"And he might have been looking at you in a way that made me want to tease him a little." Yunho grinned, exposing his intentions.

Hongjoong hit him again, a few times for good measure, and Yunho ran away from him until he stopped. Hongjoong seemed a little ruffled, and Yunho wondered if maybe he had hit a sore spot. He had seen the way Yeosang was looking at Hongjoong though, so he wasn't about to take back his words, he was an honest man after all.

"Stop joking about these things," Hongjoong mumbled once he got tired of hitting him on the arm.

"I'm not joking! I seriously think you've charmed at least a couple of our crew members," Yunho exclaimed. He was trying to look serious, but Hongjoong's embarrassed expression made it hard for him. "You should stop seducing our crew, Captain, it's going to make work difficult." 

"I'm not seducing anyone!" Hongjoong yelled, hitting him again, but weekly this time.

His face was so red that Yunho decided to take pity on him. He brought Hongjoong into a hug and he buried his face on Yunho's chest, taking deep breaths to calm down from how embarrassed he was.

"Stop teasing me..." Hongjoong complained weakly after staying in that positions for a few minutes.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," Yunho smiled. He knew Hongjoong wasn't genuinely upset beyond his embarrassment, but he still felt a little bit bad about it. "But for the record, you know we can work things out if one of them catches your eye, right?"

"I know,"Hongjoong nodded, voice muffled. "But that's not what's happening, okay?"

"Okay, I believe you," Yunho kissed the crown of Hongjoong's head and dropped the topic. It had been enough teasing for one day.

* * *

Wooyoung was sitting on his bed in the hotel room he had booked in Umeri. He had been having more dreams recently about his destiny. They were still confusing and he couldn't completely understand them since he didn't have the full picture, but the one thing he knew was that they weren't supposed to meet yet. He knew his dreams would show him where to meet them once it was time.

Truth be told, he was starting to get a little impatient. He had been visiting Mingi and Yeosang in dreams, and had already met Hongjoong once, but he really wanted to meet all of them, in person. Yunho scared him a little bit, because from what he had heard, he didn't seem to trust others easily. And San was, apparently, intimidating. The only other options were Jongho, who Mingi seemed really fond of, and the mystery man they were missing.

He went to bed trying to make his mind, and before he realized it, he had fallen asleep without choosing who to visit next. The place he found himself in was far from pleasant as Yeosang, Mingi, or even Hongjoong's dreams had been. Wooyoung was inside of some sort of building, completely white, which made the light bounce off the walls and the floor in painful ways. It took him a while to get used to it, but once he did, he began walking around.

Wooyoung had never seen a building so white, and it was starting to make his head hurt, but it's structure was so detailed that this could only be another memory. The hallway was slightly curved, and Wooyoung deduced that the building he was on was some sort of tube. Eventually, after walking for an eternity, he found an entrance on the wall to his left, towards the interior of the building. 

There was nothing near the entrance that told him what it was, but it was completely open, and since he was tired of just walking around in literal circles, he decided to try his luck. The inside of the room was the same blinding white, but here and there were specs of black that filled it up. They were training equipment. He had stumbled upon some sort of training room, and he wasn't alone.

In the center, there was something akin to a boxing ring, and a tall man dressed in black clothes stood in one of the sides as two other people sparred in the center. Wooyoung walked closer, and soon he noticed that one of these people was San, dressed in completely gray clothes. The person he was fighting with was also wearing gray clothes only, which had made it difficult for Wooyoung to differentiate them at first.

The breathing of the two fighters was heavy, and they were both covered in sweat. San had a little bit of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, where a purple blotch was starting to form. However, this was nothing compared to the other person, who had multiple bruises and gashes and was holding their left arm close to their body, probably dislocated. Wooyoung wanted to interrupt the dream, but San's determined eyes deterred him from it.

Instead, he watched how the other person dashed towards San and tried to throw a punch. San easily dodged to his right and grabbed the person's arm, using their weight to throw them over. He sat on the floor and pulled the arm between his legs, placing them on top of the person's neck and cutting their air flow. 

It couldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds before the man dressed in black, who Wooyoung guessed was some sort of coach, stopped them, but to Wooyoung it felt like an eternity. He watched the other fighter struggle, but it was obvious he had already lost. He tried in vain to ask San to stop, and then the coach pulled a small device and pressed a button. San yelled and shook in his place before his body went limp, and Wooyoung had to cover his mouth to not scream.

The coach called someone else to pick the body of the person that had lost before leaving San abandoned on the floor. Once everyone had left, Wooyoung got on top of the ring and approached San. He was on the verge of crying, unable to comprehend where the horrible dream was coming from, but he held it in and sat next to San. San was awake, but he was breathing hard from the pain of the shock, and seemed to be unable to stand up.

"Are you okay?" Wooyoung asked with a trembling voice.

San eyes immediately shot open and he looked at Wooyoung. Despite having talked to him, the dream place didn't disappear around him like it had happened with the other dreams he had visited before, and Wooyoung looked around in worry. With some effort, San sat down and grabbed Wooyoung by the neck of the shirt pulling him closer. Wooyoung yelped and looked at him in fear.

"Who are you?" San heaved out. He sounded exhausted, and Wooyoung knew that his real body was probably also restless.

"I-" Wooyoung didn't know what to say. He was terrified by what he had seen before and couldn't make up his mind.

"How did you get into my dreams? Unless..." San narrowed his eyes as he examined Wooyoung closely. His expression lightened up with understanding. "You're a Somnum."

Wooyoung's eyes widened, and he immediately tried to rip San's hand off, but it was like the other had regained all his strength all of a sudden. San pushed him to the floor and sat on top of him, immobilizing both his arms with his legs. Wooyoung trashed around, panicking, but San was too strong and he couldn't push him off, couldn't get him to move.

"Calm down!" San yelled. He too was panting, seemingly still tired from the sparring he had been doing before. 

San conjured a knife and pointed it to Wooyoung's neck. Wooyoung immediately stopped moving and looked at San with tearful eyes. He was scared, this was not how things were supposed to go. San wasn't supposed to be threatening him with a knife inside his dream. Wooyoung's panic was so strong, that he couldn't even remember how to force his body to wake up, to leave.

"Who sent you here?" San asked, voice rough.

"W-What?" Wooyoung asked, a couple of tears spilling from his eyes.

"Who sent you, to kill me?" San's mind was going a mile a minute. He knew that the Organization had captured a few Somnum and used them on special missions to kill particularly difficult subjects that wouldn't be easy to take care of with their normal tools. San was probably one of those difficult subjects.

"No one sent me!" Wooyoung yelled, trying hard to control his tears.

"Stop lying! Why else would you be here?!" San was starting to lose his patient. Had they finally decided to get rid of him?

"I promise I'm not going to kill you!" Wooyoung was now full on sobbing. If San chose to kill him, that would be the end of it all, he couldn't let that happen.

"Then why are you here?" San's resolution lost force as he saw Wooyoung cry. It made him uncomfortable, but it was impossible to think that someone who looked so afraid was there to do him any harm.

"Because you're part of my destiny," Wooyoung sobbed. His arms hurt under San's weight, but he was too scared to try moving again. "I saw you in my dream, you know what I am, you must know!" 

"I don't believe you," San muttered, but his resolve was shattering. 

He knew very well about the traditions and lifestyle of the Somnum, they were always urged to capture them if they saw one during their missions. Captured Somnum were treated worse than the soldiers of the Organization, worse than even animals. San had met a few and it was like their personalities had been stripped away from them. But the man under him still seemed human, still seemed like himself.

"P-Please," Wooyoung begged. "You can ask Yeosang, Mingi or Hongjoong, they've seen me in dreams too, I beg you."

"Why them?" San asked, leaning closer to Wooyoung. It was a dream, but he was still self conscious of his surroundings.

"Yunho and Jongho are also part of this, and someone else, but I haven't met any of them yet..." Wooyoung began to calm down as San's aggressiveness died down as well. "We're supposed to be together, there's something else beyond finding the treasure, but I don't know what it is yet."

"So you know about the treasure," San mumbled. "What else do you know, about this destiny of yours?"

"I really don't think you want to know..." Wooyoung mumbled. He still hadn't revealed to anyone what happened to them, and he was afraid to.

"Tell me," San insisted, reminding Wooyoung there was still a knife pressed to his neck.

"We're supposed to fall in love," Wooyoung mumbled, his face growing red with embarrassment. "The eight of us."

San dropped the knife, feeling genuinely shocked about the revelation, and the knife vanished in a cloud of thin smoke. Wooyoung looked at him in curiosity. The grip on him softened and he was able to get his arms out. He sighed in relief as he watched all sorts of thoughts reflect on San's face, like he was trying to decide just how bad these news were. 

"That's impossible, it can't happen as you say." San mumbled, remembering his mission.

"Why?" Wooyoung had managed to stop crying. He was still pretty much shaken, but he didn't think San would try to kill him again.

He sat down instead, causing their faces to be just millimetres away from each other. San pushed him away, slightly startled, and moved to sit down beside him, suddenly too self conscious about Wooyoung's presence. What Wooyoung was saying just couldn't be possible. San had been sent there with a mission, and yet... And yet he didn't think Wooyoung was lying either. He was in trouble.

"I think you should leave..." San said, looking at Wooyoung without really looking at him. Wooyoung wanted to complain, to stay and clarify things with San, but that empty look San gave him was enough to deter him from insisting. He nodded and stood up. 

"Just... Please don't tell the others, they're not supposed to know yet." Wooyoung added, looking at San with worry.

San nodded, and Wooyoung woke up.

**Author's Note:**

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